Established in 1981, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a political and economic alliance of six countries in the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The bloc promotes economic, security, cultural and social cooperation among members and holds a yearly summit to discuss cooperation and regional affairs. The GCC countries possess nearly half of the world’s oil reserves. However, in recent years, the GCC countries have expanded beyond their hydrocarbon-dominant economy into other fields, such as finance, tourism, construction, research, information technology and education.
Moreover, the increasing population and calls for renewable energy, sustainability, and climate change issues have also contributed to the region’s diversification strategies. The GCC has achieved outstanding stability and occupied a prestigious position at the international level, and economic indicators show that it has seen remarkable growth across all sectors.
Today, the 44th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit will begin in Doha and it is expected that leaders will discuss and deal with pressing regional issues. The Israeli war on Gaza, which has so far killed over 15,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, is touted to be top on the agenda.
Other topics on the summit’s agenda will include the joint Gulf railway project initiated, which has stalled over the last few years. The Gulf leaders will also discuss advancing toward economic unity among Gulf countries by 2025 – a substantial development that aims to set the bloc on a sustainable economic pathway. The agenda also covers tourist visa strategies between 2023 and 2030. Recently, the GCC announced it was working to implement a Schengen -visa-type strategy that would ease the movement of people among member states, hence boosting the bloc’s tourism sector. Also, joint military cooperation and regional security are on the agenda.
Notably, this year’s summit is the first GCC gathering held outside Saudi Arabia in five years, with Qatar hosting the intergovernmental council for the seventh time. Qatar first hosted the extraordinary gathering in 1983 and since then has hosted it in 1990, which marked the group’s solidarity with Kuwait. Doha hosted other sessions in 1996, 2002, 2007, and 2014.
Hosting the event in Doha shows the unity and commitment within the GCC. It further highlights Qatar’s role in the bloc towards achieving its regional and international objectives. The successes of previous summits held in Qatar and the adopted policies also buttress Doha’s contribution to a prosperous and robust GCC.
