Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf

From Includipedia, the inclusionist encyclopedia

(Redirected from Gulf Cooperation Council)

Template:Infobox Geopolitical organization

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.

1 History
2 Objectives
3 Economy
4 Secretaries-General
5 Comparison with other regional blocs
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

Created on May 25, 1981, the Council comprises the Arabian 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.^[1]

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 Arabian Gulf. Yemen is (currently) in negotiations for GCC membership, and hopes to join by 2016.^[2]

A common market was launched on January 1, 2008.^[3]

[edit] 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 centres;
setting up joint ventures;
encouraging cooperation of the private sector;
strengthening ties between their peoples; and
establishing a common currency, the Khaleeji, by 2010. (However, Oman had announced it will not be able to meet the target date.)

[edit] Economy

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 Fund, 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 is also planning to submit its application for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

In 2006, its GDP (nominal) was $717.8 billion dollars (IMF April 2007), led by spectacular growth in United Arab Emirates and Qatar. ^[4]. 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.