The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)

The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf consists of  the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar and the State of Kuwait. The Cooperation Council was established on May 25th 1981, and is based in the city of Riyadh.
Objectives of the Cooperation Council are to effect coordination, integration and interconnection between Member States in all areas in order to achieve unity between them, deepen and strengthen links and areas of cooperation between their peoples, and to formulate similar regulations and stimulate scientific and technological progress in the fields of industry, mining, agriculture, water and animal resources; and to establish scientific research centers joint ventures and encourage cooperation of the private sector.

The organizational structure of the Cooperation Council consists of the Supreme Council, the Consultative Commission, the Ministerial Council, the Dispute Settlement Commission and the Secretariat-General.

The Unified Economic Agreement between Member States was signed in 1981, which was later updated and revised in 2001. Member States have agreed on taking several steps in order to achieve integration between them. A Free Trade Area was established in 1983, followed by the Customs Union in January 2003, then the GCC Common Market that was launched in January 1st 2008. In December 2008, the Supreme Council adopted the agreement establishing the Monetary Union and the by-law of the Monetary Council leading to the subsequent setting up of the Monetary Union and introducing the GCC Single Currency.