Oman plays a key role in GCC integration

Muscat—The Sultanate of Oman has been keen to support the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)’s development in various fields and has diligently contributed to communication and cooperation with member states to achieve what the region's peoples aspire to.

The Sultanate of Oman's participation in the 45th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit, which will be held in the sisterly State of Kuwait, with a delegation headed on behalf of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik by His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, comes within the framework of this keenness and the results of the Gulf summits held during the past four decades between its sisterly countries in terms of consolidating its path and creating integration and interconnection in all fields.

Member states have continuously monitored the political aspect due to its direct impact on international peace and the encouragement of dialogue. At the forefront of these issues is the continued Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 2023, leaving behind thousands of Palestinian martyrs and wounded and widespread destruction of the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, and the prevention of the Israeli occupation from bringing in food, relief, medical supplies, and fuel to the besieged Strip amid international and UN calls to stop the war on Gaza

The Cooperation Council affirmed its firm positions on the centrality of the Palestinian cause, ending the Israeli occupation, supporting the sovereignty of the Palestinian people over all Palestinian territories occupied since June 1967, establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and guaranteeing the rights of refugees following the Arab Peace Initiative and international legitimacy resolutions, and the need to redouble the efforts of the international community to resolve the conflict and revive the peace process in the Middle East, in a way that meets all the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people under those foundations, calling on the Security Council to issue a resolution to complete international recognition of the independent State of Palestine and to obtain full membership in the United Nations.

The Cooperation Council affirmed its full support for achieving security and stability in the sisterly Republic of Yemen, to reach a political solution, under the Gulf Initiative and its executive mechanism, the outcomes of the Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference, and Security Council Resolution 2216, in a way that preserves Yemen’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, and independence.

The Lebanese Republic is also witnessing Israeli aggression that targeted civilians and led to a wave of displacement in many Lebanese cities. The Cooperation Council affirmed its firm position with the brotherly Lebanese people and its support for their security and stability. The Cooperation Council affirmed its firm positions and decisions regarding the importance of preserving the sovereignty, security, stability and territorial integrity of Sudan, and supporting it in confronting the developments and repercussions of the current crisis, and the necessity of calm, preferring the language of dialogue and unifying ranks, and alleviating the suffering of the brotherly Sudanese people.

The economic aspect among the member states received a great deal of attention, as GCC citizens were allowed to own shares in joint and new joint stock companies operating in economic activities, and GCC citizens were treated equally in tax treatment with citizens of the member state in which the investment was made.

The unified economic agreements of the GCC countries exempted industrial products of national origin in the member states from customs duties and fees of similar effect, and many obstacles that limit the flow of their industrial products were removed. Rules were prepared to coordinate and encourage the establishment of industrial projects in the GCC countries, a unified law for industrial regulation in the GCC countries, a law on anti-dumping, compensatory and preventive measures, and rules for giving priority in government purchases to national products in the GCC countries. The establishment of the Gulf Railways Authority was also approved.

The data issued by the GCC Statistical Center indicated many achievements in achieving social sustainability paths, most notably the size of the total workforce in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (according to data for the first quarter of 2024), which amounted to about 33.8 million male and female workers, constituting 58.7 percent of the total population in the GCC countries, with 78.9 percent males and 21.1 percent females, while the size of the workforce of GCC citizens amounted to 5.6 million male and female workers, constituting 22.3 percent of the workforce in the Cooperation Council.