Gulf Cooperation Council

Last modified: 2014-05-29 by zoltán horváth
Keywords: gcc | gulf cooperation council | international organizations |
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image by Zoltán Horváth, 26 October 2002

• Overview
• Description of the flag

See also:

• International Organizations
• Gulf Cooperation Council web page

Overview

The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ), is a political and economic union involving six Arab states of the Persian Gulf with many economic and social objectives. Not all of the countries neighbouring the Persian Gulf are members of the council; Iran and Iraq are currently excluded, although both nations have a coastline on the Gulf. 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;
- unified military presence The Peninsula Shield
- encouraging cooperation of the private sector;
- strengthening ties between their peoples; and
- establishing a common currency by 2010
(However, Oman announced in December 2006 it would not be able to meet the target date. Following the announcement that the central bank for the monetary union would be located in Riyadh and not in the UAE, the UAE announced their withdrawal from the monetary union project in May 2009. The name Khaleeji has been proposed as a name for this currency. If realised, the GCC monetary union would be the second most important supranational monetary union in the world in terms of GDP, after the euro area)

It was established on May 25, 1981, and its member States are: