(MENAFN) Fighting terrorism and increasing investment from the Gulf region are the priorities for the UK's relations with the GCC states and not human rights, British Prime Minister Theresa May said ahead of her arrival in Bahrain for a trade summit on Tuesday.
In detail, concerns over poor human rights in the Gulf region should not be an impediment to increased trade, she said in a pre-summit statement.
"No doubt there will be some people in the UK who say we shouldn't seek stronger trade and security ties with these countries because of their record on human rights," said the prime minister.
"But we don't uphold our values and human rights by turning our back on this issue. We achieve far more by stepping up, engaging with these countries and working with them to encourage and support their plans for reform."
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