The UAE's delegation, led by H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, attended the first meeting of the GCC Economic and Development Affairs Authority, which was hosted in Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday.

Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defence, chaired the meeting.

In his opening address, he stressed that the GCC countries as one bloc have the opportunity to become the sixth largest economy in the world if they worked properly in the coming years.

''Today we are trying to take advantage of these opportunities, especially as we are in an era marred by a lot of economic fluctuations in the world. Therefore, we need to work together in the era of blocs,'' the deputy crown prince said.

The meeting discussed the latest economic and developmental trends regionally and globally and reviewed the progress in implementation of resolutions, recommendations and agreements regarding these two areas.

The authority was set up at the 16th GCC Summit, held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with the mandate to expedite work towards co-ordination and integration among the GCC countries in the economic and development areas.

''It is time to make a paradigm shift in the economic development of the GCC countries that will improve quality of life, energise the GCC economy and sharpen its competitive and negotiating power, and increase its role in the global economy," a statement issued at the end of the meeting said.

The statement stressed the need for empowering existing economic sectors so as to stimulate growth.

''The oil sector must be highly flexible and attractive to woo more investment and become more competitive,'' the statement added.