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Week 5 GCC

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13 views17 pages

Week 5 GCC

arabivc

Uploaded by

amir.hamid.bhatti
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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International Relations

of the Gulf Region


Khaled Almezaini
Conceptual Understanding of ‘ regionalism, cooperation and
Integration.’

REGIONAL INTEGRATION REGIONAL COOPERATION


• Regional Integration: This involves a more comprehensive process where
countries not only cooperate but also unify certain policies, economies,
and regulations. It often leads to the reduction or elimination of barriers
to trade, the movement of goods, services, and people, and may involve
shared political or institutional frameworks (e.g., European Union).

• Regional Cooperation: This is less binding and more flexible. Countries


work together on specific issues, such as trade, infrastructure
development, or security, without necessarily merging their policies or
creating shared institutions. Cooperation is often issue-based and
doesn’t involve the same level of commitment as integration.
Political Commitment
• Regional Integration: Often requires countries to give up a degree of
sovereignty in certain areas (like trade, borders, or monetary policies) to
achieve closer ties and uniformity.
• Regional Cooperation: Countries retain full sovereignty and only cooperate in
areas where mutual benefits are identified without significant obligations or
political unification.

Institutional Framework
• Regional Integration: Generally involves the creation of supranational
institutions or legal frameworks that manage the integration process, such as a
common market or customs union.
• Regional Cooperation: May not require the establishment of formal institutions
or legally binding agreements. Cooperation is often ad hoc and focused on
specific projects or programs.
Economic and Social Impact

• Regional Integration: Tends to have a more profound impact on the


economies and societies of the member countries, as it involves
deeper harmonization of policies and laws (e.g., free movement of
people, common currency).

• Regional Cooperation: The economic and social impact is usually


more limited since it focuses on specific projects or sectors without
the same level of integration across the board.
Differences between cooperation
and regional integration
• Key Features of Integration
• Common policies and regulations
• Supranational institutions (e.g., European Commission).

• Key Features of Cooperation


• Flexible agreements between states.
• No transfer of sovereignty.
Levels of integration
• Political Union: Coordinate aspects of members' economic and political systems
• Economic Union: Remove barriers totrade, labor, and capital; set a common trade
policy against nonmembers; and coordinate members' economic policies
• Common Market: Remove al barriers to trade, labor, and capital among members;
and set a common trade policy against nonmembers

• Customs Union : Remove alL barriers to trade among members, and set a common
trade policy against nonmembers

Free-Trade Area: Remove alL barriers ot trade among members, but each country has
own policies for nonmembers.
Establishing the GCC:
 Factors affecting the formation of the Council
• Ideological Fear (Communism)
• British exit from the region
• The Iranian revolution
• The Iraq-Iran War
 The Omani establishment in its inception (Muscat conference in
November 1976) and Kuwait's invitation in 1978.
 The first idea of establishing the council emerged at the Gulf summit
held on the sideline of the Islamic summit that was held in Taif in Saudi
Arabia
• In this conference, it was initially approved in principle to
the establishment of the Council on the basis of the
participation of the six Gulf States
 Meetings of the Preparatory Council. The foreign ministers of the six
countries held a conference in Riyadh in February 1981 and signed a
document on the establishment of the council.
• .
• The statement of the establishment of the council referred to the link between the founding countries of this
regional organization "special relations and common characteristics stemming from their common believe, similar
systems, unity of their heritage, similar political, social and demographic composition, and cultural and
civilizational rapprochement”

• The statement was also issued «the establishment of the Council came in line with the national goals of the Arab
nation, within the framework of the Charter of the League of Arab States, which urged meaningful regional
cooperation at strengthening the Arab nation.

• Most Arab countries supported the establishment of the council


• On May 25, 1981, the first summit of the Council was held, where the GCC as a regional cooperation was signed in
Abu Dhabi.
• The meeting discussed the dangers facing the region, its wealth and the existence of a power gap in the region.
• Common security concerns at the first meeting before May 25th.
Source: Aljazeera Centre
Objectives: The GCC Charter states
that the basic objectives are :
• 1. To effect co-ordination, integration and inter-connection between member states in all fields in order to achieve
unity between them.

2. To deepen and strengthen relations, links and areas of cooperation now prevailing between their peoples in
various fields.

3. To formulate similar regulations in various fields, including the following:


A. Economic and financial affairs.
B. Commerce, customs and communications.
C. Education and culture.
D. Social and health affairs.
E. Information and tourism.
F. Legislative and administrative affairs.

4. To stimulate scientific and technological progress in the fields of industry, mining, agriculture, water and animal
resources, to establish scientific research: to establish joint ventures and to encourage cooperation by the private
sector for the good of their peoples.
‫‪The GCC Joint Program Production Institution‬‬
‫مؤسسة االنتاج البرامجي المشترك لدول الخليج‬
‫العربي‬
Organizational Structure of the GCC
• The Supreme Council:
• The Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is the highest authority
of the organization. It is composed of the heads of the Member-States. Its presidency
rotates periodically among the Member States in alphabetical order
• The Ministerial Council
• The Ministerial Council is composed of the Foreign Ministers of all the Member
States or other ministers deputizing for them. The Council is presided over by the
Member State which presided over the last ordinary session of the Supreme Council.
It convenes its ordinary sessions once every three months .
• The Secretariat General
• The functions of the Secretariat General are broadly the preparation of special
studies relating to cooperation, coordination, planning and programming for
common action, preparation of periodical reports regarding the work done by the
GCC, following up the implementation of its own decisions, preparation of reports
and studies on the demand of either the Supreme Council or the Ministerial
Council, making arrangements for holding of the meetings of various organs,
finalization of their agenda and drafting resolutions.
GCC: Achievements and Failures:
check website:
• Security:
• Security cooperation
• Identity Card; movement between the member states

• Military:
• Aljazeera Shield Forces
• Defense Agreement
• Security communications

• Economic

• Media
• Is the GCC useful for Gulf citizens?

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