GCC trade with S Korea at $ 112 bn in 2011

The volume of trade exchange between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and South Korea is on the rise and the sum reached USD 112 billion in 2011, as the bloc claims the spot of the country's second trade partner, said Kuwaiti Ambassador to South Korea Meteb Saleh Al-Mtoteh on Thursday. There is increasing cooperation between the two sides in a variety of sectors with particular interest in and growth in new technologies and partnerships to transfer the latest Korean advancements in this field to the gulf region. There is keenness on both sides to boost interaction in the fields of arts and culture, science and technology and related research, as well as economy and trade, said the Ambassador. The Kuwaiti diplomat was speaking during a banquet hosted by the accredited ambassadors of the GCC countries honoring the Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik as part of ongoing effort to improve relations between the bloc and South Korea.