BCCI EXPECTS GCC SUMMIT TO FURTHER ECONOMIC BOOST
date: 06 12, 2006
MANAMA, DEC. 6, (BNA) BAHRAIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (BCCI) CHAIRMAN, DR. ISSAM ABDULLAH FAKHRO, EMPHASIZED THAT THE GULF COUNTRIES COUNCIL (GCC) IS WITNESSING A CRUCIAL ECONOMIC TURNOUT IN ITS 27TH SUMMIT DUE TO BE HELD IN RIYADH NEXT SATURDAY TO SPEED UP ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AMONG ITS MEMBERS.
DR.FAKHRO LAUDED, IN A STATEMENT OF WHICH BAHRAIN BNA RECEIVED A COPY, THE ACHIEVEMENTS ACCOMPLISHED BY THE GCC SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1981 TO FULFILL THE ASPIRATIONS OF THE GCC NATIONALS IN VARIOUS FIELDS. HE ALSO EXPRESSED HOPE TO REMOVE A NUMBER OF RESTRAINTS AND OBSTACLES IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT MORE ECONOMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVATE THE PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF ECONOMIC UNITY RATHER THAN ECONOMIC INTEGRITY. SUCH ECONOMIC ONENESS WILL FEATURE THE GCC AS A MORE POWERFUL AND EFFICIENT REGIONAL ECONOMIC BLOC THAN IT IS NOW ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS DICTATED BY THE ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION. DR. FAKHRO EXPLAINED THAT CURRENT CHALLENGES REQUIRED THE GCC COUNTRIES TO ACHIEVE ECONOMIC INTEGRITY WHICH BECAME A MUST NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF SHARED FRATERNAL AND NATIONAL SENTIMENTS AS WELL AS HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL TIES BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF GLOBAL ECONOMIC TRENDS. ECONOMIC INTEGRITY AS A STEP TO ECONOMIC UNITY IS THE SOLE ALTERNATIVE FOR ECONOMIC AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, DR. FAKHRO ADDED. THE EFFORT EXERTED TO ACHIEVE ECONOMIC AND REGIONAL COOPERATION AMONG THE GCC COUNTRIES MUST BE CONSIDERED AND THE ULTIMATE GOAL HAS TO BE PLANNED AS IT IS A PART OF A MORE COMPREHENSIVE VISION AND A STEP TOWARDS A FARTHER AND LOFTIER OBJECTIVE - ECONOMIC INTEGRITY AMONG ALL ARAB COUNTRIES, DR. FAKHRO SAID. HOWEVER, HE WARNED THAT WITHOUT THIS STRATEGIC VISION, THE GCC COUNTRIES WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO APPROPRIATELY FACE THE WORLD ECONOMY'S CHALLENGES AND MERGER STEPS. THE BCCI CHAIRMAN EXPLAINED THAT THE FORTHCOMING GCC SUMMIT WILL TACKLE SEVERAL ISSUES CLOSELY RELATED TO GCC CITIZENS AND ECONOMY SUCH AS THE CUSTOMS UNION, MEETING THE MONETARY UNION'S DEADLINE, ADOPTING ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, A GCC UNIFIED COMMERCIAL POLICY PROJECT AND OTHER TOPICS AIMED AT TIGHTENING TIES AND COOPERATION. DR. FAKHRO ASSERTED THAT BAHRAIN WAS ALWAYS BEEN A FORERUNNER IN ITS COMMITMENT TO GCC ECONOMIC DECISIONS, CALLING ON ALL MEMBERS TO EMULATE HIS COUNTRY IN IMPLEMENTING PREVIOUSLY APPROVED DECISIONS WHICH WOULD BOLSTER THE LONGED- FOR GCC ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP. BCCI EXERTED VALUABLE ENDEAVOURS TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE GCC ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP AND FORWARDED TO THE GCC CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE UNION A MEMO WITH ITS VIEWS ON PRIVATE SECTOR ECONOMIC ISSUES TO BE RAISED TO GCC LEADERS, FAKHRO ADDED. THE MEMO REVEALED MANY HINDRANCES AND DIFFICULTIES WHICH AFFECTED CERTAIN ACHIEVEMENTS INCLUDING IMPEDIMENTS RELATING TO DECISION-MAKING CONSENSUS AND MECHANISMS WHICH WERE TOO SLOW AND MARKED BY A LACK OF DYNAMISM, AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGIC FORESIGHT OF JOINT ECONOMIC WORK, FAKHRO EXPLAINED. BESIDES, THE PRIVATE SECTOR WAS SIDELINED IN THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS WHICH ALSO LACKED A STRATEGY TO PINPOINT PRIORITIES AND IMPLEMENT DEADLINE, HE ADDED. THROUGH ITS MEMO, THE BCCI DREW ATTENTION TO THE GENERALIZED OBJECTIVES AND MULTITUDE OF TOPICS RELATING TO UNIFIED ECONOMIES AND SHED LIGHT ON THE STARK INCONGRUITY OF CERTAIN SHORT-TERM LOCAL DECISIONS WITH THE GCC OVERALL TENDENCIES AND BROADER STRATEGIES WHICH UNDERMINE THE EMERGENCE OF THE GCC AS A UNIFIED AND STRONG ECONOMIC BLOC, FAKHRO ADDED. HE EXPLAINED THAT THE BCCI MEMO ALSO REFERRED TO THE FAILURE IN ACTIVATING ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP WHICH LED TO UNEVEN COMMITMENT DEGREES BY GCC COUNTRIES TO ECONOMIC RESOLUTIONS AND BROUGHT ABOUT CONTRADICTORY INTERPRETATIONS. ALL THESE DEFICIENCIES COMBINED LED MANY GCC CITIZENS TO GROW DISCONTENTED WITH THIS KIND OF COOPERATION WHICH THEY THINK FAILED TO EQUALLY PARCEL OUT THE JOINT ECONOMIC WORK'S FRUIT AND PROMPTED THEM FOR FURTHER EQUALITY IN TREATMENT, HE SAID. HMQ/MT 06-DEC-2006 20:05
date: 06 12, 2006
MANAMA, DEC. 6, (BNA) BAHRAIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (BCCI) CHAIRMAN, DR. ISSAM ABDULLAH FAKHRO, EMPHASIZED THAT THE GULF COUNTRIES COUNCIL (GCC) IS WITNESSING A CRUCIAL ECONOMIC TURNOUT IN ITS 27TH SUMMIT DUE TO BE HELD IN RIYADH NEXT SATURDAY TO SPEED UP ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AMONG ITS MEMBERS.
DR.FAKHRO LAUDED, IN A STATEMENT OF WHICH BAHRAIN BNA RECEIVED A COPY, THE ACHIEVEMENTS ACCOMPLISHED BY THE GCC SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1981 TO FULFILL THE ASPIRATIONS OF THE GCC NATIONALS IN VARIOUS FIELDS. HE ALSO EXPRESSED HOPE TO REMOVE A NUMBER OF RESTRAINTS AND OBSTACLES IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT MORE ECONOMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVATE THE PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF ECONOMIC UNITY RATHER THAN ECONOMIC INTEGRITY. SUCH ECONOMIC ONENESS WILL FEATURE THE GCC AS A MORE POWERFUL AND EFFICIENT REGIONAL ECONOMIC BLOC THAN IT IS NOW ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS DICTATED BY THE ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION. DR. FAKHRO EXPLAINED THAT CURRENT CHALLENGES REQUIRED THE GCC COUNTRIES TO ACHIEVE ECONOMIC INTEGRITY WHICH BECAME A MUST NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF SHARED FRATERNAL AND NATIONAL SENTIMENTS AS WELL AS HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL TIES BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF GLOBAL ECONOMIC TRENDS. ECONOMIC INTEGRITY AS A STEP TO ECONOMIC UNITY IS THE SOLE ALTERNATIVE FOR ECONOMIC AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, DR. FAKHRO ADDED. THE EFFORT EXERTED TO ACHIEVE ECONOMIC AND REGIONAL COOPERATION AMONG THE GCC COUNTRIES MUST BE CONSIDERED AND THE ULTIMATE GOAL HAS TO BE PLANNED AS IT IS A PART OF A MORE COMPREHENSIVE VISION AND A STEP TOWARDS A FARTHER AND LOFTIER OBJECTIVE - ECONOMIC INTEGRITY AMONG ALL ARAB COUNTRIES, DR. FAKHRO SAID. HOWEVER, HE WARNED THAT WITHOUT THIS STRATEGIC VISION, THE GCC COUNTRIES WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO APPROPRIATELY FACE THE WORLD ECONOMY'S CHALLENGES AND MERGER STEPS. THE BCCI CHAIRMAN EXPLAINED THAT THE FORTHCOMING GCC SUMMIT WILL TACKLE SEVERAL ISSUES CLOSELY RELATED TO GCC CITIZENS AND ECONOMY SUCH AS THE CUSTOMS UNION, MEETING THE MONETARY UNION'S DEADLINE, ADOPTING ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, A GCC UNIFIED COMMERCIAL POLICY PROJECT AND OTHER TOPICS AIMED AT TIGHTENING TIES AND COOPERATION. DR. FAKHRO ASSERTED THAT BAHRAIN WAS ALWAYS BEEN A FORERUNNER IN ITS COMMITMENT TO GCC ECONOMIC DECISIONS, CALLING ON ALL MEMBERS TO EMULATE HIS COUNTRY IN IMPLEMENTING PREVIOUSLY APPROVED DECISIONS WHICH WOULD BOLSTER THE LONGED- FOR GCC ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP. BCCI EXERTED VALUABLE ENDEAVOURS TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE GCC ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP AND FORWARDED TO THE GCC CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE UNION A MEMO WITH ITS VIEWS ON PRIVATE SECTOR ECONOMIC ISSUES TO BE RAISED TO GCC LEADERS, FAKHRO ADDED. THE MEMO REVEALED MANY HINDRANCES AND DIFFICULTIES WHICH AFFECTED CERTAIN ACHIEVEMENTS INCLUDING IMPEDIMENTS RELATING TO DECISION-MAKING CONSENSUS AND MECHANISMS WHICH WERE TOO SLOW AND MARKED BY A LACK OF DYNAMISM, AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGIC FORESIGHT OF JOINT ECONOMIC WORK, FAKHRO EXPLAINED. BESIDES, THE PRIVATE SECTOR WAS SIDELINED IN THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS WHICH ALSO LACKED A STRATEGY TO PINPOINT PRIORITIES AND IMPLEMENT DEADLINE, HE ADDED. THROUGH ITS MEMO, THE BCCI DREW ATTENTION TO THE GENERALIZED OBJECTIVES AND MULTITUDE OF TOPICS RELATING TO UNIFIED ECONOMIES AND SHED LIGHT ON THE STARK INCONGRUITY OF CERTAIN SHORT-TERM LOCAL DECISIONS WITH THE GCC OVERALL TENDENCIES AND BROADER STRATEGIES WHICH UNDERMINE THE EMERGENCE OF THE GCC AS A UNIFIED AND STRONG ECONOMIC BLOC, FAKHRO ADDED. HE EXPLAINED THAT THE BCCI MEMO ALSO REFERRED TO THE FAILURE IN ACTIVATING ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP WHICH LED TO UNEVEN COMMITMENT DEGREES BY GCC COUNTRIES TO ECONOMIC RESOLUTIONS AND BROUGHT ABOUT CONTRADICTORY INTERPRETATIONS. ALL THESE DEFICIENCIES COMBINED LED MANY GCC CITIZENS TO GROW DISCONTENTED WITH THIS KIND OF COOPERATION WHICH THEY THINK FAILED TO EQUALLY PARCEL OUT THE JOINT ECONOMIC WORK'S FRUIT AND PROMPTED THEM FOR FURTHER EQUALITY IN TREATMENT, HE SAID. HMQ/MT 06-DEC-2006 20:05