There is a need for the GCC to pool together huge investment portfolios to fund the ongoing and upcoming common vital projects, according to an economist.
“Such investment portfolio becomes more relevant in light of the ongoing soaring competition in developing numerous projects including the latest announcement of an investment of $9.181 billion to develop six new port facilities capable of handling 85 million containers,” Omar Al Juraifani, Economic and Financial Expert, said.
Experts underlined the importance of developing a new concept in line with the current economic phase to enable the restructure of the investment system using new frameworks and the switch from competition to integration. This integration will allow dividing the projects among countries based on the available natural resources, geographical distance, technical and logistic capabilities among other factors in each country.
“As the name of the 30 year old Gulf Cooperation Council implies “cooperation”, there must be more reflection of economic cooperation on ground. Some countries are rich in natural resources and others are rich in other resources, therefore the integration is expected to be successful, paving the way for a solid economy based on the highest standards, especially when prudent plans are put in place to achieve this important ambition,” he added.
“As the KSA and Kuwait have abundant oil reserves, why they do not benefit from these resources in developing petroleum, minerals and energy industry and encouraging all investors to establish companies in these sectors? Similarly, Qatar has rich gas resources that must be utilized by the cooperation, while Oman must benefit from its coastlines on the Arabian Sea; UAE is a re-export hub and Bahrain is a financial centre. We must have projects similar to the GCC joint venture Gulf Air. Today, we need GCC joint ventures such as “Gulf Energy”, “Gulf Ports” and “Gulf Industries” to take care of energy, ports and industry sectors, respectively. Companies of this type will lead to economic integration and will create ample job opportunities for the GCC nationals”, added Al Juraifani.
Observers say the ongoing GCC competition for developing similar projects in the GCC countries such as port projects, for example, may cause delay for certain projects. Yet, this is justified when market demand absorb such competition. In soft drink market, there are two giant companies, Pepsi and Coca Cola, which acquire 90 percent of the market, and make competition with them a is very difficult task. But it is possible to reestablish development investment portfolio in the GCC countries with the aim of serving these countries.
GCC negotiations are underway to discuss the development of joint projects that meet the needs of the Gulf people, such as, power generation, water desalination and energy project, as the GCC countries are facing an increasing shortage of these project. Other experts are calling for the necessity of GCC cooperation in making the renewable energy initiative a success through the peaceful nuclear energy project, an initiative that aims to help stay abreast with the latest international trends and to secure an additional cornerstone to further strengthen the economic development on medium and long term.