UAE Plays a Decisive Role in the Economic Integration of GCC

One of the main objectives of the GCC is the gulf economic integration as per provisions of Article IV of the GCC’s set of laws for achieving coordination, integration and interdependence among member countries in all fields through similar economic regulations, joint ventures and strengthening ties with private sectors including technological and scientific progress.

Gulf economic integration focuses on the movement of products, removal of trade barriers including coordination and unification of economic policies. Work is also in progress to complete the requirements of the Monetary Union and the issuance of a GCC single currency.

The UAE has always been a forerunner in the area of GCC joint integration and all the country’s achievements are documented in the statistical reports of the Gulf Cooperation Council General Secretariat. UAE is the first member state to permit GCC citizens to own real estate (76%) in 2013 and grant licenses for economic activities and company formation in Dubai. It also allows GCC citizens to work in its government sector, grants admission to GCC students to public education, and achieves a high volume of intra-regional trade of GCC countries.

The Minister of State for Financial Affairs of the UAE, Obaid Humaid Al Tayer met Dr Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on 2nd August 2021.

The agenda of the meeting was to discuss measures for enhancing economic and financial cooperation between GCC countries, ensuring better economic integration, accelerating trade and promoting outputs delivered by the GCC Customs Union Authority (GCCCUA, established in 2003) and the Gulf Market Committee (GMC, established in 2008).

The Minister of State for Financial Affairs emphasized the crucial role that UAE played in boosting the economic, trade and developmental integration, and widening the scope of cooperation amongst the GCC member countries and solidifying the role of GCC countries in the decision-making process of the world economy.

Al Tayer noted that the Gulf Council plays the desired and necessary role in strengthening economic ties and strategic partnerships between the member countries. He also stressed the intentions of the Ministry of Finance for promoting relations between the UAE and other GCC countries for achieving planned developmental goals.

The Unified Economic Agreement of the GCC countries and its implementation is looked after by the Ministry of Finance of the UAE including joint GCC economic action, associated projects, financial integration, and the implementation of plans of the GCCCUA and GMC.

“Department of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Affairs”, a specialized wing of the Ministry of Finance has been established and assigned the responsibility to keep a follow up on the effective implementation of projects for economic integration.

Implementation of policy frameworks as a measure towards strengthening and boosting economic and investment ties with the GCC countries has been discussed by Dubai UAE with particular emphasis on the enhancement of trade exchange. The framework was also designed to support the sustainability of the gains accomplished by the GCCCU and the Gulf Common Market.

Discussions were held between Obaid Humaid Al Tayer and Dr Nayef Falah Al- Hajraf on potential frameworks and ways for strengthening and accelerating economic and investment cooperation with the GCC member states.  The meeting convened on 2nd August 2021 was a result of efforts put by the Ministry of Finance for strengthening and extending support to joint GCC economic action and deciding on a common direction towards confronting international as well as regional changes in the economy.

Expanding on areas of co-operation and joint coordination among the GCC countries particularly in terms of the volume of trade exchanges that could confer the GCC region a distinguished position on the global economic decision-making map were also discussed during this meeting.

Al Tayer highlighted saying, “The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plays a key role in consolidating the strong relations and strategic partnership between the member countries to enhance the Council’s march. The Ministry of Finance is keen to bolster the ties between the UAE and the GCC countries, to support the GCC joint action and meet its aspirations for development and prosperity.”

To strengthen and promote ways of economic and investment cooperation with various countries of the world, the UAE, represented by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) previously signed agreements with other countries as a GCC member state to strengthen its position across the world. As per the latest data and statistics, the total volume of the economy of all GCC countries is one of the biggest across the globe.