Page 91 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

Here to Stay: GCC Market Attractiveness and Risks 75

The very creation of the GCC was an important step in the lib-
eralization of Gulf markets. While the countries of the Gulf share
common cultural practices and often ethnic and historical origins
(the ruling family of Qatar, for example, is from the region that is now
central Saudi Arabia), the countries have distinct identities and histo-
ries, often including long-standing disputes and feuds. Trade has
been a cause both of greater collaboration and of occasional conflict.
The gradual creation of a common GCC market has been—some-
what like the creation of the European Community and later the
European Union—a breakthrough that often required putting aside
centuries-old feuds for the sake of common progress. Forming the
GCC was a crucial first step in the opening of the region’s economies.
From a global perspective, the GCC’s most important step has
been its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), which
meant adopting a number of international trade reforms in order to
be accepted into this powerful and prestigious world economic
community. As illustrated in Table 3.2, all six GCC countries are
now WTO members.

TABLE 3.2
Accession of GCC Countries to WTO

Year of WTO Country
Membership
1995 Bahrain
Kuwait
1996 Qatar
UAE
2000 Oman
2005 Saudi Arabia

It is not surprising that Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE—all
countries with small native populations and relatively nimble regula-
tory systems—were quickest to join. Oman, with its additional domes-
tic challenges and more modest national wealth, joined next. Saudi
Arabia’s accession has been the most complex and challenging given
the scale of the economy, trade flows, and domestic hurdles to clear.