06/05/2009
Gulf Cooperation Council leaders chose the Saudi capital to host the group’s first regional central bank, a key step toward a push for greater economic integration in the region. GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah said Riyadh was chosen as the location for the region’s Monetary Council, the precursor to the new central bank. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah chaired a consultative summit in Riyadh that marked a major step toward advancing the Gulf’s monetary union plan that also includes a unified currency. “No timetable has yet been established for monetary union between the member states", Al-Attiyah said.
The monetary union, originally set to begin in 2010, has stalled on a number of issues, including Oman’s decision not to participate in the single currency and Kuwait’s move to drop the US dollar as a currency peg. Following a meeting in December of last year, the GCC set the end of this year as a deadline for ratifying the charter of the monetary council, which would subsequently work to establish a timetable for the unified currency.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil producer with an overall domestic product of about $470 billion. A leading member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the Kingdom is the only Arab member of the Group of 20 nations.
The challenge now will be for Saudi Arabia to push ahead and maintain the momentum toward unification and further customs harmonization. The next challenge for all would be to build the institutional capacity of the GCC central bank, he added.
Al-Attiyah said the summit discussed major political, economic and security issues including the situation in Palestine and Iraq, GCC-Iran relations and efforts to protect Arab interests.
The summit discussed projects for strengthening GCC ties, most importantly a railway line linking the member countries, and the second phase of the GCC power grid,” he said, adding that the power grid project would be launched during the upcoming GCC summit in Kuwait, scheduled for December.
Earlier in an arrival statement, Oman’s deputy premier urged GCC states to adopt strategic decisions in order to cope with global developments and challenges.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Bahrain’s Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa and Oman’s Deputy Prime Minister Fahd bin Mahmoud Al-Saeed attended the summit.
