Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal will attend a joint ministerial meeting of foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Britain in London today, said a senior Foreign Ministry official.

Alauddin Alaskary, deputy foreign minister for protocol affairs said: “Prince Saud, who has arrived in London, will co-chair the meeting with his British counterpart William Hague.

“The GCC foreign ministers are meeting to discuss wider cooperation with Britain in various fields.”

The meeting comes at a time of growing tension in the Middle East, especially with regard to Syria and Iran.

The UK and its allies have imposed sanctions on Iran as doubts grow over its nuclear intentions. Syria, an Iran ally, has taken increasingly brutal action in recent months against protesters. A ship believed to be carrying a consignment of refurbished attack helicopters known as flying tanks to Syria is meanwhile on its way back to Russia after Britain intervened to halt the shipment.

GCC ministers who will be meeting the UK officials have expressed concerns over the violence in Syria.

GCC General Secretariat spokesman Ahmed Al-Kabi said: "Hence, the ministerial meeting has its own agenda, possibly on Syria, but they will also discuss other key regional developments and explore ways of boosting investments, bolstering economic cooperation and encouraging private sectors to embark on joint ventures."

Abdullateef Al-Zayani, GCC secretary-general, will also attend the meeting.

Al-Kabi added: "The joint GCC-UK ministerial meeting will help bolster joint political and strategic GCC-British relations."

He said the UK had been cooperating with GCC states in addressing the regional issues; Saudi Arabia is a major ally of the UK.

The Kingdom is also a major humanitarian contributor across the region.

Al-Kabi said: "The UK could capitalize on its strong relations with the GCC states' standing in the region to establish new links.”

The more the UK engages with the GCC states, the more those states will experience British values through trade links, commerce and business trips, educational exchanges, political delegations and many other similar initiatives, he added.

Gulf states are major players in the international economy and have weathered recent economic downturns.

With an overall GDP of $ 1.2 trillion, they constitute the UK’s seventh largest export market — bigger than China and India combined.

Over 160,000 British nationals live and work in the Gulf, and British exports of goods and services were worth some £ 15 billion last year, up 18 percent.

On the educational front, the UK has significant links with the region.

Some 30,000 Gulf students study in the UK each year.