The EU-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) Cooperation Agreement established in 1988 recognised science and technology as a priority sector for cooperation. This was re-affirmed during the 2008 EU-GCC Ministerial meeting.
The first INCONET project targeting the region - the GCC-INCO-NET project - began in 2010.
A Joint Action Plan 2010-2013 to boost cooperation covered
- establishing a bi-regional science technology and innovation policy dialogue
- transferring EU expertise regarding the funding and management of research programmes
- providing opportunities for GCC researchers to participate in the EU framework programme.
