The mission of Arabian Gulf cooperation council Essay

The mission of Arabian Gulf cooperation council - Essay Example In the modern world, there has been a lean on formation of trade blocks. Many countries in the world have come together to form trading blocks which acts as a platform for negotiation on matters concerning trade.In Europe there it the EU,in America there is NAFTA,in Latin America there is the MERCOSUR,and in the Middle East there is the AGCC.The Arabian Gulf Cooperation Council is the economic and political forum that coordinates policy making for at least six member states including the states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Individual countries have found it difficult to air their voices in the world on matters concerning trade and trade blocks have been found to be more influential in making trade agreements.This council was crated in May 19981 with an objective of coordinating, integrating and interconnecting the member states to work together in all fields. It was also formed with an intention of strengthening the ties between the memb er states and their people, formulating and regulating rules and regulating in economic fields. In this mandate the council was formed with an aim of putting in place regulation on economy, finance, trade, customs, tourism, legislation, administration, research and development, mining, agriculture, water and animal resources, and coordinating scientific research centers with the input of the private sector. The council does not impose trade policies upon its member states but each state put in place its own trade laws. Of recent past there is growing need for the member states to cooperate with each other on matters concerning customs duties, intellectual property, and setting of standards and coordination of intra states investments. Under the guidance of the AGCC, member states have implemented a customs union since 2003 which seeks to unify tariffs among the member states. This means at the member states have adopted some common customs laws and procedures in the trade. It also s hows that the member states have adopted a single point of entry in the region fro all international trade. It also seeks to move toward treatment of goods as national origin for member states within the GCC. This means that they would have same origin as a member block rather than indicating the origin of goods to be a particular country. After arriving at an agreement for a common market, the council is now moving towards establishing a monetary union. The country is expected to come up with a monetary union by 2010. In coming up with a common monetary union, the council expects that the economy of the region will improve and at the same time there will be increased trade with the outside world. The council has been representing the member state making trade agreements with other trade block in the world like the EU and others. It has been negotiating for free and fair trade agreements with other trade block. In particular, the council has been negotiating with the EU on harmonizing the trade between the two states with the understanding that Gulf region is home to more than 38% of the world crude reserves. (EU External Relations, 2007) The proposed work by the council One of the most important works that has been accomplished by the council is setting up of a common market. The common was launched on January 2008 and is expected to increase the trade among the countries by 25 percent by 2010 from the current 10 percent for all the foreign trade. With a combined economy of more than 700 billion US dollars, this market is expected to attract other international traders into the region. One of the proposed works by the council is the achievement of a common currency by 2010. This is expected to stir trade in the region and bring about equality among the market members. The common market aims at achieving not only free movement of goods in the region but also movement of labor and capital. Free movement of labor will even involve the right for individuals to work in