GCC finance ministers mull monetary union

GCC ministers of finance and economy and central bank governors are meeting here on Saturday to discuss a host of issues primarily a planned Gulf monetary union, a customs body and railways, Bahraini Minister of Finance Sheikh Ahmad bin Mohammad Al Khalifa said. Findings reached by a working team charged with the formulation of a single customs system and an economic judicial agency will be considered, Sheikh Ahmad, who chairs the current 97th session of the GCC economic and financial cooperation committee, said in a keynote speech at the GCC gathering. A uniform consumer protection system is also to discussed as a prelude to presenting it to the GCC Supreme Council during its coming 34th session for final approval and application, the Bahraini minister said. The agenda of the GCC finance ministers and senior officials' meeting includes an International Monetary Fund (IMF) paper on GCC financial policies and challenges amid regional and international economic and financial developments and their reflections on the GCC member states, he added. Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah is attending the meeting