The Guernsey Ministry of Finance announced that the free trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council will extend to Guernsey for goods and key elements of financial services. It said the agreement strengthens the island's international trading position, supports its long-term economic strategy and is expected to deepen business links with a region where Guernsey already has established financial and professional services relationships. According to the release, the States of Guernsey and its partners worked with the UK to secure the island's inclusion from the outset in both goods and services. The Gulf Cooperation Council comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Guernsey Financial Services Commission linked the agreement and Guernsey's participation in the wider UK-GCC framework to greater certainty for firms operating across the Gulf region and to its existing relationships with several Gulf state regulators.