FOUR GULF STATES FOR COMMON CURRENCY

The oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council took a major step towards a single currency union when four members signed a pact to create a joint monetary council after years of hesitation. Foreign ministers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia agreed at a Riyadh meeting to set up the council, a precursor to the ultimate goal of establishing a common currency, a spokesman for the grouping said. Foreign ministers from Oman and the United Arab Emirates also attended the meeting but did not sign on. Oman announced in 2007 that it wanted to keep an independent monetary policy, while the United Arab Emirates, a key regional financial and commercial hub, pulled out last month, annoyed that the GCC decided to base the future regional central bank in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia, which will host the eventual GCC central bank, dominates the region based on its role as OPEC’s largest oil exporter and its holding the world’s largest proven oil reserves. In a brief statement, the GCC ministers said they expected the agreement would be ratified by the member states by the end of this year. The statement informed that the main target of the monetary union was to achieve price stability. The signing came after years of hesitant moves on the idea. Full monetary union has been set for 2010.