Monetary union pact signed

This long-awaited common currency agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar at the Conference Palace here calls for the establishment of the GCC Monetary Council this year that will pave the way for setting up a regional central bank in Riyadh. ?This is a landmark accord,? said Saudi economist Ihsan Bu-hulaiga. ?But it is highly desirable that other two members should also come on board and I am hopeful that the UAE and Oman will join at some point of time.? The UAE recently announced it was pulling out of the deal after expressing opposition to the central bank being located in Riyadh. Oman backed out in 2006. ?The GCC Monetary Council will manage the transition toward monetary union, which is targeted to be operational in 2013,? said a GCC spokesman, Abdelaziz Al-Uwaisheg, here yesterday. The original target date for minting a common currency was 2010, but that was later postponed so that member states could have more time to work out differences. ?The currency union is the ultimate culmination of this integration and if that takes a bit longer it doesn?t worry me,? said Bu-hulaiga. The agreement will still have to be ratified by each of the four GCC governments of the remaining participants before it can be enacted; Kazinform cites the Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version