GCC central banks chiefs review monetary council issues

The governors of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Central Banks convened the 12th meeting of the Board of the GCC Monetary Council here Monday to continue discussions on the corporate and institutional structure of the council, with Governor of Kuwait Central Bank Sheikh Salem Abdelaziz Al-Sabah taking part. The meeting is presided by Governor of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency Dr. Muhammad Bin Sulaiman Al-Jaser, who serves as the Chairman of the Board of the GCC Monetary Council, and the agenda in general discusses progress on main objectives and developments towards launch of a GCC central bank. The agenda includes a meeting of the board with heads of census bodies of council member states to discuss development and fine-tuning of census procedures and systems to help with GCC economic and monetary integration. As stated by article 10 of the statute of the council, six meetings at least are held each year. Qatar had hosted the last meeting in September. Governor of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency and Chairman of the Board of the GCC Monetary Council Al-Jaser had stressed, in remarks at the conclusion of the Doha meeting, the keenness to continue the pursuit of a joint GCC currency, despite the global debt crisis, but gave no timetable. "The press in the only place there is doubt in this regard," he had stressed. "There is no delay; as we have said before, there is no specific date for the launch of the GCC currency." He pointed out technicalities such as "data still to be compiled ... citizens and state bodies must come to a full understanding of the requirements of the project ... and though there is no deadline, we are on the right path; slow but sure." Four out of six countries have agreed to the joint currency project; Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. Though experts point out notable development towards this aim, they believe launch of the joint currency is still a rather distant aim.