The Government is preparing to sign global deals with the United Arab Emirates and a number of other Gulf nations, the UAE’s economy minister said. Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri said Britain had approached members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. Mansouri gave no further details. He was speaking on a panel at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, and will then be able to strike trade deals independently of the EU. The UK was "looking forward" to a free-trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council, Liam Fox, the UK state secretary for international trade, said during a visit to Dubai for the summit, according to state news agency WAM. The GCC comprises the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. In 2017, trade between the UAE and UK totalled £17.5bn, up 12.3 percent from 2016, according to official figures. By 2020, the UK government wants that number to increase to about £25bn.All rights reserved for this news site express.co.uk and under his responsibility