UK welcomes close ties between EU and GCC.

The UK has welcomed closer ties between the European Union (EU) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and said EU and the GCC should work together across the foreign policy agenda and promote stability in the wider region, according to UK FCO Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt. "I welcome closer ties between the EU and the GCC, an increasingly important partner for Europe. At the EU-GCC meeting we reiterated our joint commitment to developing even stronger economic and political ties. We also agreed that the EU and the GCC should work together across the foreign policy agenda and promote stability in the wider region, particularly in Syria," Burt said in emailed press release from the Foreign '&' Commonwealth Office (FCO) at the end of his visit to Bahrain. On Bahrain, Burt urged all parties "to take the opportunity of the Holy month of Ramadan, a time for reflection, tolerance and forgiveness, to continue dialogue, promote trust and speak out against violence." Burt visited Bahrain on 30 June to attend the EU/Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Ministers' meeting. During the visit he met Bahrain's Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.