Humanitarian and Development Assistance The GCC and the UK agreed to work together to coordinate their humanitarian and development assistance activities, especially in the region. The GCC member states and the UK supported a follow-up conference to previous donor conferences on Syria ( including the London conference co-hosted by the UK, Kuwait, Norway and Germany, and other previous conferences hosted by Kuwait). They agreed to deliver fully on the 2016 Syria Conference pledges by the end of this year. They pledged increased support to tackle the regional refugee crisis, including the refugee education crisis in Lebanon. Additionally, they announced a new humanitarian and development cooperation Partnership Agreement with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre. Refugees, Migration and Human Trafficking Building on their strong track record of supporting refugees and fighting human trafficking, the GCC member states and the UK pledged to work together to enhance their efforts to support refugees and fight human trafficking through supporting victims and pursuing perpetrators. GCC member states agreed to support the UK’s global ambition to end modern slavery (through the commitment to the Sustainable Development Goal 8.7) and ensure compliance with international conventions on forced labour. They will discuss initiatives to facilitate cooperation with flight carriers to combat human trafficking and to identify both traffickers and victims. Trade and Investment The GCC and UK will build on their long-standing co-operation to unlock the full potential of their trade and investment relationship. This will occur both bilaterally and with the region as a whole, including to maintain the UK position as the largest foreign investor in the region. Bilateral trade between the UK and GCC was worth over £30 billion last year and at this summit there were announcements covering a number of key sectors, including Healthcare, Innovation and the Knowledge Economy, Education, Finance, Defence and Security. We will make it a priority, when the UK leaves the European Union, to build the closest possible commercial and economic relationship, and even more closely with business to promote actively GCC-UK economic engagement beyond current levels. We will work to understand and remove barriers to trade and investment, and to create the conditions under which trade and investment can flourish, empowering and enhancing the lives of our citizens. Leaders agreed that we need to use government and business dialogues in a focussed and coherent manner in order, firstly, to build deeper knowledge and understanding of the key trade and investment issues, before moving towards discussions about the resolution of barriers. To this end, a newly-established Joint Working Group will discuss the detail of our trading relationship, and help drive progress. Leaders also decided to hold a GCC-UK PPP Conference in London in the first quarter of 2017, focusing on GCC national transformation and economic diversification plans. People To People The GCC and UK agreed to build upon their already strong foundation of people to people contact through further enhancement. They agreed to close collaboration and partnership in education, healthcare, culture, sport and the arts, including through the British Council, and working with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) on marine environmental issues. They agreed on the importance of efforts to support inter-faith and inter-civilisation dialogue, including through King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna. Strong and Long-Lasting Partnership GCC member states and the UK agreed to meet annually in a similar high-level format, in order to advance and build upon the UK-GCC Strategic Partnership announced today. They endorsed the GCC-UK Joint Action Plan as agreed by their Foreign Ministers and called for its full implementation. Leaders have also instructed their Ministers to review and extend the timeframe and scope of the current GCC-UK Joint Action Plan (JAP) (2015-2018) in light of the commitments made at this summit. They agreed to hold regular joint ministerial meetings in all areas of GCC-UK Strategic Partnership, and instructed their experts and senior officials to meet regularly to map out the details and monitor implementation. --SPA 17:46 LOCAL TIME 14:46 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w285525