The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia participated in the 5th meeting of the Permanent Ministerial Preparatory Committee of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Economic and Development Affairs Authority, held in Salalah, Oman on Wednesday.
Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal F. Alibrahim said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seeks to enhance the competitiveness of the Gulf economy and advance the progress made by of the GCC.
In his speech during the meeting, Alibrahim said: ‘We are determined to work to achieve more coordination, integration, and interdependence between our countries.’
The participating ministers discussed economic and development issues of common interest, with the aim of strengthening the economic unity of the Gulf countries. Key topics of discussion included the agenda of the second session of the Economic and Development Affairs Authority, governance of joint Gulf economic and development work, and the roadmap for initiatives and economic unity projects 2025.
‘The GCC Common Market boils down to the freedom of movement of individuals, services, and investments between the GCC states, in a way that benefits the consumer, raises competitiveness, enhances visible investments, attracts foreign investments, and creates job opportunities,’ Alibrahim said.
‘There is positive progress in terms of issuing laws and legislation, but the most important thing is measuring implementation on the ground, gauging impact, continuous re-evaluation, and developing legislation and executive regulations to maximize benefit from the common market,’ Alibrahim added.
The meeting was chaired by Omani Minister of Economy Dr. Said bin Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Saqri.
The attendees included Bahraini Minister of Finance and National Economy Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Qatari Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, acting Undersecretary at the Ministry of Finance of Kuwait Talal Al-Nemesh, and GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi.
In a brainstorming session on Tuesday, several working papers were discussed regarding the Gulf Customs Union, the Gulf common market, building and using artificial intelligence (AI), and the competitiveness of the Gulf economy.
Source: Saudi Press Agency