ABSTRACT
The six states constituting the Arab Gulf Co-operation Council (AGCC) – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – are located in the south-western region of the Asian continent, covering 2,285,844 km2, with a population of around 36 million. While there are some variations in output volumes and population sizes, current collective Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is around 536 billion US dollars (US$), and average per capita income is a little less than US$ 15,000. The AGCC is a regional organization founded on 26 May 1981. Its main objectives are to effect co-ordination, integration and inter-connection between member states in all fields, strengthening ties between their peoples, formulating similar regulations in various fields such as economy, finance, trade, customs, tourism, legislation, and administration, as well as fostering scientific and technical progress in industry, mining, agriculture, water and animal resources, establishing scientific research centres, setting up joint ventures and encouraging co-operation in the private sector (GCC Secretariat General; web: www.gcc-sg.org).
