GCC Supreme Council to set roadmap for achieving economic integration by 2025

The 40th meeting of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which concluded in Riyadh on Tuesday, issued the final communique under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Wednesday.

The Supreme Council recommended setting a roadmap for completing studies and projects related to achieving economic unity by 2025.

It also stressed the importance of continuing to deepen economic cooperation among member countries.

The Supreme Council also mandated its advisory body to study topics during its 22nd session in 2020, such as human capital, promotion of economic sustainability, the Silk Road Project (Belt and Road), and uniting efforts to raise the ranking of the GCC countries on the global competitiveness indicators, the WAM report added.

The Supreme Council also approved the law of trademarks, in addition to assigning the GCC Financial and Economic Committee the task to implement decisions related to joint action in the customs union.

This includes the amendments of the unified tariff, selective tax, and combat of harmful practices in international trade, among others.

It also directed the ministerial committees in charge of non-custom restrictions to review the unified guide related to release of foreign goods at the first entry points of the GCC countries.

As regards the cultural strategy for the GCC countries, the supreme endorsed the new strategy for the coming decade (2020-2030), in addition to the labor and labor force strategy for 2020-2025 term.

It also approved the unified regulation for real estate owners for a preliminary 4 years as well as the guide to the best experiences in the field of housing finance.