GULF COOPERATIOON COUNCIL
- The Gulf Cooperation Council is a political cum economic alliance of 6 countries in the Arabian Peninsula.
- MEMBER COUNTRIES – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Member countries of GCC
- The GCC members are some of the fastest-growing economies of the world.
- It has a total GDP (nominal) of arund $1.78 trillion.
- The aims of GCC includes:- economic, security, cultural and social cooperation between the six states and holds a summit every year to discuss cooperation and regional affairs.
Structure of Gulf cooperation council:
- The GCC comprises six main branches that carry out various tasks, from the preparation of meetings to the implementation of policies.
- Supreme Council,
- Ministerial Council,
- Secretariat-General,
- Consultative Commission,
- Commission for the Settlement of Dispute
- The Secretary-General.
Objectives of Gulf cooperation council:
- To effect co-ordination, integration and inter-connection between member states in all fields in order to achieve unity between them.
- Governing similar laws and policies in economy, trade &custom , tourism, administration.
- Aims of integrating into a single market with a common market being established in 2008.
- Set up scientific research centers across the peninsula.
Importance of GCC for INDIA :
- The two most important reasons for the relationship are oil and gas, and trade.
- The gulf countries are an integral part of India’s ‘extended neighbourhood’, both by way of geographical proximity and as an area of expanded interests and growing Indian influence and soft power.
- Indian’s make up the Gulf states largest foreign nationals, with an estimated 7.8 million indian diaspora living and working in the region mostly concentrated in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
- India has multiple multilateral and bilateral military exercises with most of the GCC nations.
- India and GCC signed a Framework Agreement for enhancing and developing economic cooperation between the two sides in New Delhi in August 2004.
- The India-GCC FTA is under negotiation.
Syllabus: Prelims
