The Gulf Research Center and the Institute for Diplomatic Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia began on Sunday, April 18th, 2009, a 3 day long Training Session on the European Union (EU) and  the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) relations. This session brought together more than 40 diplomats representing all the GCC states in an effort to analyze the issues defining the EU-GCC relationship and explore ways to make current cooperation more effective. The focus of the session was to communicate the basic facts about the EU, its history, policies and institutions. In addition to more specific issues between the two sides including political governance and dynamics as well as economic, trade and financial relations.