The Gulf Cooperation Council - Essay Example

? Overview of the GCC s Table of Contents Introduction 3 About GCC 3 Establishment of GCC 4 Creators of GCC 5 GCC Secretariat 6 GCC Meetings 6 Members of GCC in Annual Meetings 7 Conclusion 7 References 9 Introduction The Gulf Co-operation Council is a council of the Arab States in the region of Persian Gulf that is formed with six member states. Iran and Iran are not a part of the Gulf Co-operation council although they form the boundaries over the coastline of the Persian Gulf. The Gulf Co-operation Council has been formed with specific economic and social objectives for the member states. Among the major objectives of the council are setting up similar regulations in the member states in the fields of trade, business, finance, economy, tourism, customs and administration. This is aimed at providing an economical balance in the Gulf region and also envisaged a common currency in the area (Low and  Salazar, 2011). This would help the council to foster the growth of the private sector in the economy of the Gulf region through economic co-operation, scientific and technological progress, joint ventures and strengthening the ties of the people among the Arab states. The Gulf Co-operation Council also aims to set up a unified military structure involving the Arab States. About GCC Gulf Corporate Council is the economic and political alliance of six different Middle Eastern Countries, such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and The United Arab Emirates (MSU, 2013). In the year 2007, the states of Gulf Corporate Council supported the International compact document with Iraq which was adopted in Egypt. In the year 2011, Saudi Arabia suggested that the Gulf Corporate Council intensify their integration in order to form a confederation. However, several objections rose against this specific proposal of Saudi Arabia by the other GCC countries. Several discussions are going on regarding the future membership of Morocco, Jordan and Yemen. Establishment of GCC GCC is the short form of Gulf Corporate Council. GCC was founded in Abu Dhabi in the year 1981. The original council of GCC comprised a total 630 million acre Persian Gulf state of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar. The integrated economic agreement between the GCC countries was signed in Abu Dhabi in the year 1981 (Britannica, 2013). These six countries are referred to as the Gulf Corporate Council states. There are several key objectives behind the formation of GCC. Fostering technical and scientific progress in agriculture, mining, industry, animal and water resources is one of the major objectives of Gulf Corporate Council. The GCC states aimed to develop several scientific research centers in order to enhance countries’ growth. In addition, they are trying to establish several important joint ventures. This strategy and idea can enhance the business environment of GCC countries. Devising similar regulations in different social, political and economical fields, such as finance, trade, religion, tourism, customs, administration and legislation is another major objective of the states of Gulf Corporate Council (Ahmad & Faris, 2010). These countries were facing threat of several outside attacks. Therefore, they tried to cohesive strong military presence in these countries. This unified military force is recognized as Peninsula Shield Force. In the year 1981, these several states of Gulf Corporate Council aimed to establish a common currency by 2010. GCC tries to encourage the cooperation of several private sector organizations. According to the states, this co-operation can enhance the economic environment of these six countries. Healthy social balance of a country is very much important in order to achieve future growth (Kirgis, 2006). Therefore, Gulf Corporate Council aimed to strengthen the ties between the people of these countries. However, in the year 2006, Oman announced that the council cannot meet the objective within the target date. In addition, the country also announced that the Monetary Union Central Bank will be located in Riyadh. This announcement had a negative impact on GCC. The United Arab Emirates withdraw their name from this monetary union project. Khaleeji was proposed as common currency name. This process can make GCC as the second largest monetary union in the world (Hiles, 2011). This rank can be measured by the Common-Currency Area’s GDP. Creators of GCC The need for economic co-operation was felt by the six member states namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, UAE and Saudi Arabia which led to their meeting in Abu Dhabi in May, 1981. Looking at the objectives and goals of the Arab states, an economic agreement was signed between the six countries in Abu Dhabi in November, 1981. This led to the creation of the Gulf Co-operation Council and the member states in the Arab world were called as the Gulf States which took the initiative to create the council (Ramazani and Kechichian, 1988). The Gulf Co-operation Council, however, does not include all the Arab states. The associated membership of Iraq from the Gulf Co-operation Council has been discontinued after the invasion of Kuwait. Iran is also carrying on negotiations with the Gulf Co-operation Council and is set to become a member by 2016. The creation of the Gulf-Co-operation Council is aimed at sustaining the economic balance in the region of Persian Gulf and consolidating the unified military structure of the Arab states. With the creation of the Gulf Co-operation Council, the Gulf States aim to fulfill objective of establishing a common currency in the region. Similar regulation in the field of finance, law, business and administration could be set up for maintaining an overall balance in the region (Middle Eastern Dept, 1997). GCC Secretariat The operations of the Gulf Co-operation Council are guided by the secretariat which is headed by the Secretary Generals elected from one of the Gulf States. The Secretary Generals represent each of the Gulf States as per the respective turn of the states. The secretariat is responsible for fostering the growth of economy in the Gulf region and takes necessary steps to strengthen the ties of the people of the Gulf States. The secretariat is also responsible to strengthen the military structure of the region for its own security against external invasions. With this view, the secretariat of the Gulf Co-operation Council has set up several organizations like the Patent Office, Common market, Monetary Council, etc (Fasano-Filho and Schaechter, 2003). The GCC Patent Office ensures transparency in trade in the Gulf States by enforcing that no business application matches with the GCC Patent. The common market was launched with an objective to remove the barriers of cross-country investment. The monetary council was set up with an objective to promote the establishment of a shared currency (Ibrahim, 2007). GCC Meetings The people of the Gulf States forming the Gulf Co-operation Council meets for discussion on important issues related to the areas of interest of the members countries. The meetings are periodically held on an annual basis in the Gulf Summits every year. The last Gulf Summit has been held in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. The government officials and important dignitaries meet in this summit to discuss the proceedings of the Council and the area of concern over the last fiscal period (Sassanpour, 1996). The meeting is headed by the elected Secretary General and with the participation of the Gulf States. The Gulf States share the economic progress of their respective countries and the areas of difficulties faced due to non-adherence of the GCC guidelines by their counterparts. The impacts of the shared currency and proposals for improvement in the policies of GCC are accepted during the summit. The meetings are held with a view to discuss the problems in the economy and administration of the Gulf States and to encourage feedback from the counterparts in order to develop an amicable solution for sustenance of the policies of GCC (International Monetary Fund, 1996). Members of GCC in Annual Meetings The utmost decision making unit of the Gulf Corporate Council is known as supreme council. The members of this council meet on annual basis. The Gulf Corporate Council heads of state take part in this annual meeting. Foreign ministers and several governmental officials are the members of the Ministerial Council who also take part in this meeting (Kirsten & Karch, 2011). These officials and ministers generally meet on quarterly basis in order to implement the key decisions of Supreme Council. These meeting help the council to propose new important policies that can help in economic and social growth (Ibp, 2005). The administrative head of this council is the office of Secretariat-General. Secretariat-General arrange these meetings and conferences and monitor the process of policy implementation. Peninsula Shield force is the major achievement of this council (Walkowiak, 2004). It is a joint Saudi Arabia based military venture. This joint venture signed an intelligence-sharing act in the year 2004. Moreover, the concept of common currency was developed at a particular summit of Gulf Corporate Council in the year 2009. These are major objectives and achievements of these annual GCC meetings. Conclusion Gulf Corporate Council is an economical and political union of the union of several Arab States. This union council borders the Persian Gulf, explicitly Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Major reason behind the establishment of this council was to make an economical, social and political balance in these countries and states. Concept of Peninsula Shield Force, common currency and monitory union are the significant objectives of the country. Several ministers and government official usually take part in the GCC annual meeting to develop new policies and objectives that can help in the future growth of the states of Gulf Corporate Council. References Ahmad, E., & Faris, A. (2010). Fiscal Reforms in the Middle East. London: Edward Elgar. Britannica. (2013). Gulf Cooperation Council. Retrieved from the Britannica official website: . Fasano-Filho, U. and Schaechter, A. (2003). Monetary Union Among Member Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. USA: International Monetary Fund. Hiles, A. (2011). Reputation Management. New York: Bloomsbury. Ibp, U. (2005). Qatar Business Law handbook. New York: International Business Publications. Ibrahim, B. (2007). Economic Co-Operation in the Gulf: Issues in the Economies of the Arab Gulf Co-Operation Council States. USA: Psychology Press. International Monetary Fund. (1996). Policy Challenges in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries. USA: International Monetary Fund. Kirgis, F. (2006). The American Society of International Law’s First Century. New York: Martinus Nijhoff. Kirsten, W., & Karch, R. (2011). Global Perspectives in Workplace Health Promotion. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Low, L. and  Salazar, L. C. (2011). The Gulf Cooperation Council: A Rising Power and Lessons for ASEAN. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Middle Eastern Dept. (1997). Financial Systems and Labor Markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries. USA: International Monetary Fund. MSU. (2013). GCC History. Retrieved from the Michigan State University Press Website: . Ramazani, R. K. and Kechichian, J. A. (1988). The Gulf Cooperation Council: Record and Analysis. USA: University of Virginia Press. Sassanpour, C. (1996). Policy Challenges in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries. USA: International Monetary Fund. Walkowiak, V. (2004). Attorney-Client Privilege in Civil Litigation. New York: ABA. Read More