The Council of Ministers is composed of the Foreign Ministers of all the Member States. It meets every three months. It mainly formulates policies and recommendations to promote cooperation and ensure coordination between Member States in the implementation of ongoing projects. Its decisions shall be presented in the form of recommendations for approval by the Governing Council. The Council of Ministers is also responsible for preparing the meetings of the Governing Council and its agenda. The voting procedure in the Council of Ministers is the same as in the Governing Council. [32] The GCC has also launched major rail projects to connect the peninsula. Railways are expected to boost intra-regional trade while helping to reduce fuel consumption. More than $200 billion will be invested to develop about 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles) of rail network across the GCC, according to Oman`s Minister of Transport and Communications. The project, worth an estimated $15.5 billion, is expected to be completed by 2021. “It will connect the six member states as a regional transport corridor, further integrate into national rail projects, deepen economic, social and political integration and be developed with a sustainable perspective,” said Ramiz Al Assar, World Bank Resident Advisor for the GCC. [31] Some financial economists interpreted the division between Saudi Arabia and Qatar in 2014 as a tangible political sign of a growing economic rivalry between oil and natural gas producers that could have “profound and lasting consequences” beyond the MENA region.
[69] The original Union of 2,673,110 square kilometres (1,032,093 square miles) included Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Unified Economic Agreement between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council was signed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on 11 November 1981. These countries are often referred to as “the GCC states” or “the Gulf states”. To reduce their future dependence on oil, the GCC countries are pursuing unprecedented economic structural reforms. [14] The GCC has launched joint economic projects to promote and facilitate integration. Member States have connected their electricity networks and a water connection project has been launched to be operational by 2020. A project to create a common air transport system was also presented. [30] In May 2017, the Gulf Cooperation Council rejected the formation of a Transitional Political Council in South Yemen, calling for the separation of South Yemen, siding with Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. [85] Given that Jordan and Morocco are the only two Arab monarchies currently unrepresented on the Council, the current members see them as powerful potential allies.
Jordan borders Saudi Arabia and is economically linked to the Gulf states. Although Morocco is not close to the Persian Gulf, Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri notes that “geographical distance is not an obstacle to a strong relationship.” [76] Companies and investors from the GCC countries are involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Since 1999, more than 5,200 transactions with a known value of $573 billion have been announced. [28] You are active in GCC and in cross-border mergers and acquisitions abroad. The group of investors includes a number of sovereign wealth funds. [29] Saudi Arabia proposed in 2011 to transform the GCC into a “Gulf Union” with closer economic, political and military coordination to balance Iranian influence in the region. [9] [10] Other countries opposed the proposal. [11] [12] In 2014, Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa said that current events in the region underscored the importance of the proposal. [13] The Peninsula Shield Force is the military wing of the GCC, founded in 1984. In September 2014, GCC members Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, as well as Jordan, a floating member, launched air-to-air operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria. [40] However, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are among the states that oppose the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, while Qatar has historically supported them.
They also promised other support, including the operation of training facilities for Syrian rebels (in Saudi Arabia)[41] and permission to use their airbases by other countries fighting ISIL. The GCC logo consists of two concentric circles. On the upper part of the wider circle, the phrase Bismillah is written in Arabic, which means “In the name of God”, and on the lower part, the full name of the Council, in Arabic. The inner circle contains a hexagonal relief shape representing the six member countries of the Council. The interior of the hexagon is filled with a map that includes the Arabian Peninsula, on which the territories of the member countries are borderless and colored brown. On the edge of the hexagon, there are colors that represent the flags of the six member countries. Some GCC countries have land borders with Iraq, Jordan or Yemen and maritime borders with Iran, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea or Somalia. The Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Gulf (Arabic: مجلس التعاون لدول الخليج العربي), originally (and still colloquially) under the name of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC, مجلس التعاون الخليجي), is a regional intergovernmental political and economic union composed of all the Arab States of the Persian Gulf – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – with the exception of Iraq. [2] [3] The GCC Charter was signed on 25 May 1981, formally establishing the institution.
[4] Since the creation of the Council in 1981, its number has not increased, as all members are Arab monarchies. [76] In May 2011, Jordan`s application for GCC membership, which had been submitted for the first time 15 years earlier, was accepted and Morocco was invited to join the Union. [81] [82] In September 2011, following a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries and those of the GCC countries, a five-year economic plan for both countries was presented. Although a membership plan was discussed, it was noted that there was no timetable for the accession of both and that discussions would continue. [76] On 15 December 2009, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia announced the creation of a Monetary Council to introduce a single currency for the Union. The Council, which set out a timetable and action plan for the creation of a central bank and the choice of a monetary regime, met for the first time on 30 March 2010. Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Mohammad Sabah Al-Sabah said on August 8. December 2009 that the introduction of a single currency could take up to ten years. The initial target was in 2010. Oman and the United Arab Emirates then announced their withdrawal from the proposed currency.
The Secretariat is the executive body of the Gulf Cooperation Council. It takes decisions within the limits of its competences and implements decisions approved by the Supreme Council or the Ministerial Council. The Secretariat is also preparing studies on cooperation, coordination and planning of joint actions. It regularly reports on the work of the GCC as a whole and on the implementation of its own decisions. The current Secretary General is Nayef Falah Mubarak Al Hajraf, and his deputies include Abdulaziz Al Auwaishig and Khalifa Alfadhel. [32] The union served as a group for cooperation and competition in sport. GCC countries organize an annual meeting of Ministers of Youth and Sports to promote youth and sports initiatives in the region; In 2015, this meeting was held for the 29th time. [48] The promotion of the organisation of international sports events has also served as an economic objective for EU countries and has led to investment and development in the region. [49] This region has some of the fastest growing economies in the world, mainly due to a boom in oil and gas revenues and a construction and investment boom supported by decades of oil economies. In an effort to build a tax base and economic base before reserves are depleted, the UAE`s investment branches, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, retain more than $900 billion in assets. Other regional funds also manage hundreds of billions of dollars in assets.
In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain imposed a ban on Qataris and their companies. Qataris are not allowed to enter or live in these countries unless they have a spouse living there or if they need to have a visa with them to enter these countries. [75] Only Egypt`s Sinai Peninsula is located in the Arabian Peninsula. In 2011, Bahrain`s foreign minister requested that Egypt be admitted as a member of the GCC. [77] The region is an emerging hotspot for events, including the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. Doha also submitted an unsuccessful bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Qatar was then selected to host the 2022™ FIFA World Cup. The GCC Supreme Council is composed of the heads of member states. It is the supreme decision-making body of the GCC and defines its vision and objectives. Decisions on matters of substance must be approved unanimously, while procedural matters require a majority. Each Member State shall have one vote.
[32] Stimulus packages have been criticized for supplanting the private sector, failing to set clear priorities for growth, restoring low consumer and investor confidence, and undermining long-term stability. [21] In the midst of the uprising in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates sent ground troops to Bahrain to protect vital infrastructure such as the airport and road network. [9] [34] [35] [36] Kuwait and Oman refrained from sending troops. [9] [37] Instead, Kuwait sent a naval unit. [38] In 2001, the GCC Supreme Council set itself the following objectives: all current member states are monarchies, including three constitutional monarchies (Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain)[5],[6], two absolute monarchies (Saudi Arabia and Oman) and a federal monarchy (the United Arab Emirates, which consists of seven member states, each of which is an absolute monarchy with its own emir). .