Gulf Monetary Union, Choice of a City Without Soul, Oman as the English Bride……..
“Meeting after meeting, but the Gulf currency project is still purely Saudi. Muscat meeting calls the remaining three states to ratify the agreement…..The ministers called on the United Arab Emirates and Oman to reconsider their refusal…….also made suggestions for the December summit of heads of state to deal with difficulties that face the Customs Union…......” M E Online
Ah, the customs union. They could have saved themselves a lot of time if they had tackled trade issues first. I did suggest several times here they look up the old German Zollverein of the 19th century…….
As for the UAE and Oman, I doubt that they will accept the invitation any time soon.
Oman mostly looks outside the GCC, outside the Arab world; that has been its history. It has always been reluctant about GCC integration, as it has always been lukewarm about Arab cooperation.
I know that Oman has been basically going through the motions, as unenthusiastic as the proverbial dutiful partner, the dutiful English daughter-bride heeding the mother who was supposed to have told her to “Think of England”.
Oman’s horizons are much wider.
The UAE resent the Saudis forcing the choice of Riyadh as the monetary capital. They firmly believe, as I do, that the Saudi capital of Riyadh is the wrong venue for the joint central bank, and they are right. Riyadh, for all its roads and buildings, has the feel of a backwater, a land-locked outpost. A most-soul-less city that has a temporary look and feel about it. And it is hardly attractive to foreigners who will need to deal with the central bankers.
Back to the currency union: solving the trade issues, and some of them are serious, is the right step.
Cheers
mhg
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