Jan 18, 2007, 5:40 GMT
Brasilia - Mercosur, the five-nation trading bloc in South America, is close to finishing up a free-trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council and expected to sign it this year, Brazil's government said.
The treaty could be signed in June at a summit meeting between Mercosur and the six-nation bloc of Arab states in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, officials in Brasilia said Wednesday night as what were described as the final talks on the pact were being held in Rio de Janeiro.
Those discussions were being conducted parallel to preparations for a summit meeting scheduled Friday for Mercosur, whose members are Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela and Paraguay.
Brazil's top negotiator, Regis Arslanian, told the online news portal G1 that the treaty had almost been nailed down and dealt with three areas: goods, services and investments.
The Gulf area is being wooed at the moment by many regions around the world, Foreign Minister Celso Amorim added. 'They have resources as well as markets,' and Mercosur would profit from a free trade agreement with the council, he said.
The council's members are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman.
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