Page 51 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

Lines in the Sand: The GCC in the Broader Middle East 35

● A three-cluster model, indigenous to the region, fits better:
the Levant, North Africa, and the Gulf states (GCC).
● The Levant is well-endowed, but its economic development
has been hampered by conflict and strife.
● North Africa is large and populous, with modest GDP per
capita.
● The Gulf is wealthy, dynamic, and an increasingly
attractive place to do business.
● The GCC is a meaningful but incomplete union, most
relevant in economic and defense matters and less
standardized in other areas.