His Excellency Mohamed Bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, headed the UAE delegation to the 119^th meeting of the GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee, which was held in Muscat, Oman. Their Excellencies members of the GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee participated in the meeting and discussed developments of the programme designed to achieve economic unity among the GCC countries by 2025, as well as topics related to consolidating financial and economic cooperation and integration among GCC countries.  

The UAE delegation included His Excellency Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Director General of the Federal Tax Authority (FTA), His Excellency Ahmed Abdullah Bin Lahej Al Falasi, Director General of the Federal Customs Authority (FCA), Hamad Al Zaabi, Director of the Office of His Excellency Minister of State for Financial Affairs, Ibrahim Hassan Al Jarwan, Director of the GCC Affairs Department at the Ministry of Finance, and Tariq Abdullah Bourhima, Director of the Customs Union Affairs Sector at the FCA.

His Excellency Mohamed Bin Hadi Al Hussaini noted that the meeting provides a vital platform to coordinate and unify efforts among the GCC countries to enhance the role of the GCC Common Market and the Customs Union. His Excellency said: “Unifying efforts and joint Gulf action contributed to consolidating national economies and strengthening their resilience in the face of global changes. We are committed to working to activate the role of the Customs Union and to enhance Gulf economic integration and trade exchange in order to achieve prosperity for our countries and people.”

The meeting, which was attended by His Excellency Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, Secretary General of the Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and their Excellencies the Finance Ministers of the GCC countries, sought to review developments regarding the completion of the Customs Union requirements and the GCC Common Market tracks before the end of 2024. This is in addition to the updates on signing the agreement to link the payment systems of the GCC countries.

The meeting previewed the outputs of the 68^th meeting of GCC Undersecretaries of Ministries of Finance Committee, which included the results of the 80^th meeting of the GCC Committee for Central Banks Governors, the 12^th meeting of the GCC Committee of Heads and Directors of Tax Administrations, the second and third meetings of the board of directors of the GCC Customs Union Authority, and the 37^th meeting of the GCC Common Market Committee. Additionally, the meeting reviewed the directives of the GCC Ministerial Council in its 155^th session regarding addressing all obstacles that prevent achievement of Gulf unity, the budget for the Gulf Climate Statistics Project, and the participation of the General Secretariat in the Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28), which will be hosted by the UAE this year.

Participants also discussed the results of the fifth meeting of finance ministers to discuss the initiatives of the G20 within the finance track. They also deliberated the proposed topics by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the joint meeting of the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee, the GCC Committee of Governors and the Director General of the IMF. Furthermore, participants reviewed developments in the technical status of the free trade agreement negotiations between the GCC and the People’s Republic of China, as well as the programme to achieve economic unity among the GCC countries by 2025.

During the meeting, the Customs Union Authority’s financial and administrative regulations were approved to give it the flexibility, authority, and financial and administrative independence needed to complete the tasks assigned to it. The amendments to the internal system of the Customs Union Authority were also approved and the GCC Common Market Committee was assigned to follow up on holding joint meetings with the committees and technical work teams that address GCC Common Market-related issues. The participants also approved the report of the team specialised in investment-related issues in GCC countries, as well as the recommendations included in the report. Additionally, the committee assigned the GCC Common Market Committee to hold joint meetings with the The Federation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Chambers on a regular basis in order to activate the path of supporting the private sector in the GCC. This is in addition to reviewing the directives of the Ministerial Council which were stated in its 155^th session regarding addressing all obstacles that prevent achievement of Gulf unity.

The GCC Undersecretaries of Ministries of Finance Committee held its 68th preparatory meeting for the 119th meeting of the GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee in the presence of His Excellency Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of Ministry of Finance.