EU High Representative Josep Borrell and Bahrein's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani signed a cooperation arrangement which provides an institutional framework for political dialogue and cooperation in areas such as trade, research and innovation, clean energy and renewables. EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell last week welcomed the recent breakthroughs on normalisation of relations among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members, as well as with Israel, during a meeting in Brussels with Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar in 2017 over what they called its support for Islamist terrorists, an accusation rejected by Doha.