Another currency union

FROM Arab News by P.K. Abdul Ghafour

JEDDAH, 29 March 2005 —

1. The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council countries are committed to issue the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] common currency in the year 2010, Finance Minister Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf stated yesterday.
2. According to a study, the new currency will be the world’s most important currency union after the euro.
3. The GCC currency will have far-reaching implications, including a big boost to inter-GCC trade, and could help the region’s countries diversify their economic base away from hydrocarbons, said the study prepared by the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center (GRC)

The Gulf Cooperation Council members are:
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)