An extensive meeting was held in the premises of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ADCCI) between HE Dr. Abdullattif Al Zayani, GCC Secretary-General, HE Mohamed Thani Al Rumaithi, President of both the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce & Industry and the ADCCI, and ADCCI’s board members. The meeting was attended by HE Sheikh Fahem Al Qassimi, ex-GCC secretary-general, HE Abdullah Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, HE Mohammed Omar Abdullah, Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi-based Department of Economic Development, HE Farag Bin Hamoodah, Chairman of the Bin Hamoodah Group, HE Fahd Al Raqbani, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development, HE Mohammed Hilal Al Muhairi, ADCCI Director-General, along with a number of senior officials from public and private organizations in the UAE.

In a speech delivered by him in the course of the meeting, HE Dr. Al Zayani, the GCC Secretary-General, stressed that his meeting with representatives of the economic community in Abu Dhabi and the UAE comes as part of implementing the decisions made by Their Highnesses the Kings and Heads of the GCC countries with an aim of backing up the Gulf march of co-operation and economic integration since the private sector is viewed as one of the main elements for making such a march a success.    

“These directives aim at materializing the Gulf economic integration, something which would not be a reality away from full co-operation and coordination with the private sector in the GCC States,” Mr. Al Zayani added, affirming that “The ambition and enthusiasm of the GCC countries’ leaders are limitless for going forward in making the GCC’s journey a success; any obstacles or problems facing this march are going to be both dealt with pursuant to the leaders’ directives and treated transparently and objectively”.
The customs union amongst Gulf States is going to take its final shape and is expected to be in place at the beginning of 2015, for a committee will be set up to achieve that and its membership composed of directors-general of authorities responsible for customs in the GCC countries, he underlined, stating that “The Gulf Federation of Chambers has prepared a valuable study on obstacles of establishing a Gulf common market and how to tackle such obstacles through clear recommendations designed to achieve economic citizenship and to accomplish the establishment of the Gulf unified common market”.
At the very outset of the meeting, HE Mohamed Thani Al Rumaithi, President of the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce & Industry and Chairman of the ADCCI, had welcomed HE Dr. Al Zayani, emphasizing that “This meeting is going to help give leverage to the march of joint economic action in the GCC States”.

“As representative of the private sector, we view economic decisions taken by the recent Riyadh summit as an advanced step towards opening up wider doors for co-operation and increasing Gulf-Gulf investments in a manner which would help achieve economic integration amongst Gulf States,” Mr. Al Rumaithi said, noting that the private sector is fully willing to do its bit towards supporting and implementing the GCC countries’ decisions, together with contributing to the execution of the GCC Secretariat General’s strategy.