Al-Badawi: GCC Customs Union Enhances Competitiveness and Sustainability
GCC Secretary-General Jassem Al-Badawi called for accelerating economic unity and the customs union to boost competitiveness, in a speech during the Standing Preparatory Committee meeting.
Translated by Qiyas from النهار — Original source
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Al-Budaiwi stated that accelerating the paths toward economic unity and completing the customs union and the Common Market of the Gulf Cooperation Council are pillars for enhancing the competitiveness of the GCC states’ economies, consolidating their capacity to confront global changes, and achieving sustainable development. This came in a speech by Al-Budaiwi during the 10th meeting of the Standing Ministerial Preparatory Committee of the Economic and Development Affairs Authority of the GCC states, held under the chairmanship of Bahrain’s Minister of Finance and National Economy, Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, with the attendance of the members of the Standing Ministerial Preparatory Committee of the Economic and Development Affairs Authority of the GCC states, including the Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment and Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, Abdulaziz Al-Marzouq.
Al-Budaiwi said that the Standing Ministerial Preparatory Committee of the Economic and Development Affairs Authority of the GCC states is gaining increasing importance in supporting and monitoring these projects through policy-making, initiatives, and practical projects, thereby achieving tangible impact on the process of economic integration among the GCC states. He added that the meeting is held amid rapid economic and geopolitical changes, which underscore the importance of enhancing coordination and integration among the GCC states, raising their collective capacities and integration, anticipating changes and their repercussions, and dealing with them efficiently and flexibly to mitigate their effects on the economies of the GCC states, enhance their readiness and resilience, and strengthen their ability to adapt and respond.
He pointed out the importance of leveraging the impacts of these developments to support growth and economic diversification, enhance competitiveness, support localization programs, and achieve sustainable development, especially since the leaders of the GCC states emphasized during their consultative meeting held in Jeddah on April 28, 2026, the importance of accelerating the attainment of the desired economic integration, including completing the requirements for reaching the final stage of the customs union, implementing the targets of the Common Gulf Market on the ground, and accelerating the execution of the railway project. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the GCC states at current prices amounted to approximately $2.4 trillion, making the GCC collectively the ninth-largest economy in the world.
He further noted that, at the same time, the non-oil sector’s contribution reached about 79 percent of the GDP, reflecting progress in diversifying the economic base. Moreover, the volume of intra-GCC trade, measured by the value of intra-GCC exports, exceeded $177 billion, recording a growth of 125 percent compared to 2007.
