Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf

مجلس التعاون لدول الخليج العربية Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG)
Map indicating CCASG members
Official languages		Arabic
Type		Trade bloc
Membership		Arab states of the Persian Gulf (6)
Leaders
-	Secretary-General	Abdul Rahman ibn Hamad al-Attiyah
Establishment
-	As the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)	May 25 1981
Population
-	estimate	40,338,196[1]
GDP (nominal)		estimate
-	Total	$1,103,235 million
-	Per capita	$22,083
Currency		see footnote 1
Website http://www.gcc-sg.org/
1	Common currency planned for introduction in 2010. Present currencies (ISO 4217 codes in brackets): Bahraini dinar (BHD) • Kuwaiti dinar (KWD) • Omani rial (OMR) • Qatari riyal (QAR) • Saudi riyal (SAR) • UAE dirham (AED)

The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG; Arabic: مجلس التعاون لدول الخليج العربية‎), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; مجلس التعاون الخليجي) is a trade bloc involving the six Arab states of the Persian Gulf with many economic and social objectives.

History

Created on May 25, 1981, the 630 million-acre Council comprises the Persian Gulf states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The unified economic agreement between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council was signed on November 11, 1981 in Riyadh. These countries are often referred to as Gulf Cooperative Countries.^[2]

Not all of the countries neighboring the Persian Gulf are members of the council. Iran is excluded, as is Iraq, although both nations have a coastline on the Persian Gulf. Yemen is (currently^[update]) in negotiations for GCC membership, and hopes to join by 2016.^[3]. The GCC Patent Office was approved in 1992 and established soon after^[4].

A GCC common market was launched on January 1, 2008.^[5] The common market grants national treatment to all GCC firms and citizens in any other GCC country, and in doing so removes all barriers to cross country investment and services trade.

All GCC members and Yemen have since joined the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) when that organization was founded. However, this is unlikely to significantly affect the agenda of the GCC as it has a more aggressive timetable than GAFTA and is seeking greater integration.

Key Indicators

Name	Capital	Population	Area (km²)	GDP (mil. US$)	Per capita (US$)	Currency
Bahrain	Manama	1,046,814	716	15,354	23,604	Bahrain Dinar
Qatar	Doha	1,307,229	11,437	52,722	80,870	Qatari Riyal
Kuwait	Kuwait City	2,460,000	17,818	95,924	39,300	Kuwaiti Dinar
Oman	Muscat	2,534,000	309,500	35,990	19,879	Omani Rial
Saudi Arabia	Riyadh	26,417,599	2,240,000	572,200	21,200	Saudi Riyal
United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	4,588,697	83,600	163,296	55,200	UAE Dirham

Main objectives

Among the stated objectives are:

• formulating similar regulations in various fields such as economy, finance, trade, customs, tourism, legislation, and administration;
• fostering scientific and technical progress in industry, mining, agriculture, water and animal resources;
• establishing scientific research centers;
• setting up joint ventures;
• encouraging cooperation of the private sector;
• strengthening ties between their peoples; and
• establishing a common currency by 2010 [2]. (However, Oman had announced it will not be able to meet the target date.) (The name Khaleeji has been proposed as a name for this currency.)

Economy

For main article see Economy of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf

This area has some of the fastest growing economies in the world, mostly due to a boom in oil and natural gas revenues coupled with a building and investment boom backed by decades of saved petroleum revenues. In an effort to build a tax base and economic foundation before the reserves run out, the UAE's investment arms, including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, retain over $900 billion in assets. Other regional funds also have several hundred billion dollars.

The region is also an emerging hotspot for events, including the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. Doha also submitted an application for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, although this bid was unsuccessful having recently been dropped from the list of candidate cities.

In 2006, its GDP (nominal) was $717.8 billion (IMF April 2007), led by spectacular growth in United Arab Emirates and Qatar. ^[6]. In 2007, its GDP (nominal) was $1,022.62 billion (IMF April 2008). IMF predicts its GDP to reach $1,112.076 billion at end of 2008 and $1,210.112 billion at end of 2009. Qatar is expected to overtake top ranked Luxembourg in GDP (nominal) per capita next year for the world's top spot. See List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita.

Secretaries-General

• Abdullah Bishara^[7], Kuwait, 26 May 1981 — April 1993
• Fahim bin Sultan al-Qasimi, United Arab Emirates, April 1993 — April 1996
• Jamil ibn Ibrahim al-Hujailan, Saudi Arabia, April 1996 — 31 March 2002
• Abdul Rahman ibn Hamad al-Attiyah, Qatar, 1 April 2002 to date

Comparison with other regional blocs

See also

• Peninsula Shield
• Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union, which administer rugby in this area
• Arab states of the Persian Gulf
• Iran-Arab relations
• Euro-Mediterranean free trade area (EU-MEFTA)
• Middle East Free Trade Area (US-MEFTA)
• List of trade blocs
• The GAFTA trade block
• Monetary Union
• Eco (currency)
• Afro (currency)
• Euro
• Ecu
• Amero
• Aamir A. Rehman - Author of "Dubai & Co.: Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States"
• Khaleeji (currency) - A proposed currency for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf

References

External links

• The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf - Secretariat General
• The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf - Secretariat General - English
• Gulf Cooperation Council Accounting and Auditing Organization
• Kuwait pegs dinar to basket of currencies
• The Unified Economic Agreement between the Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council
• Towards Unity: Gulf Cooperation Council
• GCC Trade Exchange
• Flag of The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf
• A new fiscal framework for GCC countries ahead of monetary union, Chatham House, May 2006
• Border security in the Gulf States (extract) June 2006
• http://www.oxfordenergy.org/pdfs/NG22.pdf The Dolphin Project: The Development of a Gulf Gas Initiative, by Justin Dargin, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies Jan 2008 Working Paper NG #22 ISBN

Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the (Persian) Gulf (CCASG) Bahrain · Kuwait · Oman · Qatar · Saudi Arabia · United Arab Emirates