Wednesday, 9 August 2017

Qatar standoff an opportunity to rethink GCC’s basic economic model | Arab News

Qatar standoff an opportunity to rethink GCC’s basic economic model | Arab News:

"The ongoing standoff between the members of the Anti-Terror Quartet (ATQ) and Qatar over Doha’s alleged financing of terror groups has already called into question the future of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as it is currently constituted — but that debate looks set to intensify as the economic, financial and commercial repercussions of the dispute sink in.

Whatever the ultimate outcome of the current confrontation, regional policymakers should take a long, hard look at the GCC in any case, because it is clear that the organization has fallen short of the ambitious targets it set itself in 1981 when it was first set up, and which have been restated by various measures in the period since. 

Most notably, these included the establishment of a free-trade agreement between the member states in 1983, a customs union in 2003, and a declaration of commitment to freedom of movement for people and goods in 2008."



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