The United Arab Emirates, represented by the Ministry of Finance, participated in the 68th meeting of GCC Undersecretaries of Ministries of Finance Committee yesterday, which was held in Muscat, Oman, in order to discuss topics related to Gulf economic work and ways to enhance financial and economic cooperation, as well as to prepare for the 119th meeting of the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee.

The UAE delegation that participated in the meeting was headed by His Excellency Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance. The delegation also included representatives of the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Authority, and the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security.

His Excellency Younis Haji Al Khoori noted the importance of this meeting, which serves as a vital opportunity to strengthen cooperation in various areas of common interest and unify visions among the GCC countries, as well as explore new ways to enhance Gulf economic integration. His Excellency said: “These meetings establish a pioneering platform for reviewing projects of common interest and improving their impact, foremost of which include highlighting developments on signing the agreement to link the payment systems of the GCC countries, the program to achieve economic unity among the GCC countries by 2025, as  reaffirming the commitment of the Ministry of Finance to jointly work to provide the best means of living and achieve prosperity for the GCC countries and its people.”

The meeting discussed the results of several meetings related to GCC countries to achieve unified approaches, which are the 80th meeting of the GCC Committee for Central Banks Governors, the 12th 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, the 37th meeting of the GCC Common Market Committee, in addition to the results of the fifth meeting of finance ministers to discuss the initiatives of the G20 within the financial track.

The participants discussed the directives of the Ministerial Council in its 155th session regarding addressing all obstacles that prevent achievement of Gulf unity, the budget of the Gulf Climate Statistics Project, the participation of the General Secretariat in the Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28), as well as the proposed topics for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to present studies on them at the joint meeting of the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee, the GCC Committee of Governors and  the Director General of the International Monetary Fund.

The meeting reviewed developments in the technical status of the free trade agreement negotiations between the GCC and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the decisions of the 23rd meeting of the Ministerial Committee concerned with following up the implementation of decisions related to joint Gulf action.