The Supreme Council at its 26th session (Abu Dhabi, December 2005) authorized the GCC negotiating team to study the results of the negotiations between UAE and Australia for establishing a Free Trade Area, and to initiate negotiations with Australia, in the light of this study and feedback from the GCC Member States, with a view to transforming it into a collective agreement between the GCC Member States and Australia.
A preliminary meeting between the GCC Member States and Australia was held at the Headquarter of the Secretariat General, in Riyadh, May 2007, to discuss topics related to this agreement. Several rounds of negotiations were held, which made significant progress towards reaching an FTA.