Leaders of the six Gulf Arab states were to move ahead with plans to set up a common currency and launch a new $1.6 billion regional electricity grid Monday, the latest bids for regional integration at a summit where Iran's nuclear programme was also on the agenda.
The two-day gathering of Gulf Co-operation Council leaders came against a backdrop of concerns about Dubai's debt as the emirate's chief conglomerate wrangles for more time on some of its $60 billion in liabilities. But officials appeared poised to focus on broader political and economic challenges confronting their oil-rich countries in the wake of the global economic meltdown.
On the agenda for the gathering was plans to push ahead with a Gulf-wide monetary union that could pave the way for a common currency like the euro. Those plans, in the works for years, suffered a blow when the United Arab Emirates, the region's second largest economy, said in May it was backing out. Oman had also said it was not joining.
Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry Under-secretary Khaled al-Jarallah told the country's official KUNA news agency that "an agreement on the time frame to realise the common Gulf currency was reached" during a GCC foreign ministers meeting Monday. He did not provide additional details.