He also stressed on the importance of speeding up the process of development to maintain national unity, safety and security, as well as strengthening the inner-front, the consolidation of national unity, and the equality for all in law, duties and rights to achieve the highest levels of economic integration between the GCC nations.
Shaikh Saleh Abdulla Kamel, president for the Federation of the GCC Chambers, also commended this initiative and stressed on the importance of applying the requirements for the Common Gulf Market and the tools needed to remove all obstacles facing the finalization of the Gulf Customs Union during the 39th meeting for the Union of GCC Chambers, which took place in the Omani Capital of Muscat recently.
The GCC Union of chambers has previously presented its recommendations regarding the Gulf Customs Union and the Common Gulf Market which included installing a clear system to hasten the removal of all obstacles and challenges that face various paths and areas of joint efforts whether they lie in transport and residence, work in government sectors, or the practice of all economic, investment or service activities; in light of many obstacles remaining yet unsolved, a general recommendation on the need for setting a time frame for applying common resolutions of the GCC, as well as an analysis of the obstacles hindering the implementation of those resolutions, as a first step towards identifying the reasons these problems remain unsolved. It is also recommended to deal with these hurdles without delay and to install a system to execute the appropriate solutions as to not complicate them; researching and planning for establishing a body to finance major projects adopted by GCC countries using the most appropriate method of finance through partnership with the private sector, which has proven a viable tool to achieving an economic power during times of financial hardship, especially during the global financial crisis which has not affected GCC countries greatly and the formation of the Gulf Economic Committee under the general secretariat of the GCC which aims to put in place the policies and strategies to activate common Gulf economic citizenship, review and assess implemented steps, continuously reduce obstacles to guarantee success and research all relevant projects; holding at least four meetings yearly, before and after the bi-annual consultation meeting of GCC leaders, and before and after the annual summit of GCC leaders, where all attendees are updated on topics on the Union of GCC chambers, the results achieved to date, and the measures relevant to the implementation of these decisions.
He also reinforced that the GCC council has accomplished, throughout its duration many achievements, in addition to the coordination and cooperation in all areas, most importantly mutual paths of GCC efforts, and the 2001 economic agreement which expressed that the ultimate goal is to achieve higher levels of economic integrations between the various countries of the GCC through applying a program for unified economic work in its latest stage, within a timeframe that fits the new demands of the new stage of common work. The first three chapters of the agreement were allocated to a customs union, the common gulf market and the monetary and economic union, all of which are ambitious, integrative and complementary projects which have pushed the GCC council forward and changed the quality and nature of its work and achievements.
The integration between the GCC nations was also not limited to the economic field, but has facilitated the move towards a new stage of the cooperation council, for example, through the adoption of the High Council of the resolution of December 1994 of the security treaty project for the countries of the GCC, the common defense treaty in December 2000, and the anti-terrorism treaty in 2003, an important collective initiative from the GCC to fight terrorism.
In December of 2009 the electrical linkage project was also inaugurated, a committee of standardization was formed, and a secretariat to combat dumping was established. In science and education the joint plan for education development and the plan for the use of nuclear power in peaceful means within the GCC, as for cooperation with Human Resources the most significant achievement was the equality of the government and civil sectors and the equality in retirement and social security and extending insurance to other GCC nationals working in GCC countries other than their home country.