Gulf states agree on time frame for single currency
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 14, 2009 (AFP) - Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)Loading... states have reached agreement on a time frame for the planned Gulf single currency, a Kuwaiti official said on Monday.
"An agreement has been reached on a time frame for the Gulf single currency," by the ministers, said Kuwaiti foreign ministry undersecretary Khaled al-Jarallah, cited by the official KUNA news agency. He provided no details.
The foreign ministers ended a meeting early Monday to prepare the agenda for the Gulf annual summit due to start later in the day, where the Gulf monetary union pact is expected to be launched.
The six-nation bloc has been vying to issue the single currency in 2010 but is way behind schedule, having failed to hammer out essential technical convergence preconditions.
In June, four of the six countries -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar -- signed the Gulf monetary union pact, which stipulates the establishment of a monetary council early in 2010.
The council will eventually develop into a central bank which will take all necessary procedures to issue the single currency.
Oman withdrew from the monetary union saying it cannot meet convergence prerequisites, while the United Arab Emirates pulled out after the GCC picked the Saudi capital Riyadh as the base for the future central bank.
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 14, 2009 (AFP) - Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)Loading... states have reached agreement on a time frame for the planned Gulf single currency, a Kuwaiti official said on Monday.
"An agreement has been reached on a time frame for the Gulf single currency," by the ministers, said Kuwaiti foreign ministry undersecretary Khaled al-Jarallah, cited by the official KUNA news agency. He provided no details.
The foreign ministers ended a meeting early Monday to prepare the agenda for the Gulf annual summit due to start later in the day, where the Gulf monetary union pact is expected to be launched.
The six-nation bloc has been vying to issue the single currency in 2010 but is way behind schedule, having failed to hammer out essential technical convergence preconditions.
In June, four of the six countries -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar -- signed the Gulf monetary union pact, which stipulates the establishment of a monetary council early in 2010.
The council will eventually develop into a central bank which will take all necessary procedures to issue the single currency.
Oman withdrew from the monetary union saying it cannot meet convergence prerequisites, while the United Arab Emirates pulled out after the GCC picked the Saudi capital Riyadh as the base for the future central bank.