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Gulf Cooperation Council

Regional · GCC

A charter agreed at Abu Dhabi on 25 May 1981 names the body the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. The Gulf goes unqualified there, and the word Arab attaches to the states. Article 5 identifies the members by an event: the states that took part in the meeting of foreign ministers at Riyadh on 4 February 1981. Nothing in the charter admits another.

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6 countries

Common questions

Questions about GCC

Which countries are in the Gulf Cooperation Council?

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The roster on this page is read from the Council’s own page of member states rather than assembled from country records. Article 5 of the charter composes the Council of the states that took part in the meeting of foreign ministers at Riyadh on 4 February 1981, and the list has not moved since the charter was signed at Abu Dhabi on 25 May 1981.

Can a country join the GCC?

The charter sets out no way for it to happen. Article 5 names the members by an event that took place on 4 February 1981, and no article of the charter provides for accession or for withdrawal. Amending the charter under Article 20 takes four months of notice and the unanimous approval of the Supreme Council. Jordan applied and Morocco was invited in May 2011, and neither has acceded.

Is Yemen in the GCC?

No. It takes part in several bodies that the Council created without being a party to the charter that created them: the GCC Standardization Organization has counted Yemen a member since January 2010. Membership of an institution of the Council and membership of the Council are different things, and Article 5 settles the second.

Does the GCC have a single currency?

No. The Economic Agreement approved at Muscat at the end of December 2001 set 2010 as the date for one. Oman said in December 2006 that it would not meet that date, and the United Arab Emirates withdrew in May 2009 after Riyadh was chosen to seat the monetary institution. Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia constituted a Monetary Council in December 2009, and no common currency has been issued.

What does the GCC common market give a citizen of a member state?

Standing as a national in the other member states, in force since 1 January 2008: work in the public and private sectors, residence, social insurance, the ownership of property and access to education. It rests on the Economic Agreement approved at Muscat at the end of December 2001, the same instrument that set the customs union of 1 January 2003 and its common external tariff.

What happened between Qatar and the other GCC members?

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates severed relations with Qatar on 5 June 2017. Kuwait and Oman did not, and Kuwait carried the mediation. Qatar remained a member throughout, because the charter provides no way to suspend or expel one, and the declaration signed at AlUla in January 2021 closed the dispute.

Sources

  • The Charter of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf · Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. Articles 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14 to 16 and 20, and the signature at Abu Dhabi on 21 Rajab 1401, corresponding to 25 May 1981.
  • Member States · Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. The roster used on this page.
  • About GSO · GCC Standardization Organization. The Supreme Council resolution of December 2001, the opening at Riyadh in May 2004, the Gulf Conformity Mark, and Yemen counted a member from January 2010.
  • GCC Interconnection Authority · GCC Interconnection Authority. The power systems of the member states run as one network from 2009.
  • Gulf Cooperation Council · The Unified Economic Agreement of 11 November 1981, the Economic Agreement approved at Muscat in December 2001, the customs union of 1 January 2003, the common market of 1 January 2008, the monetary union and its withdrawals, the requests of May 2011, and the rift of 2017 to 2021.
  • Peninsula Shield Force · The force created in 1984, its station in Saudi Arabia, and its entry into Bahrain on 14 March 2011.
  • King Fahd Causeway · The causeway opened on 26 November 1986 between Khobar and Al Jasra, and the crossing used in March 2011.