Speaking to reporters after a meeting of finance ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Al-Attiyah said the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the UAE would take up all topics of economic integration during their half-yearly consultative summit in Riyadh.
He indicated that the GCC leaders would discuss important issues such as the Gulf Common Market and the Customs Union as well as all other matters related to removing obstacles facing economic integration and improving performance.
Al-Attiyah said the ministers had discussed a number of issues in Saturday's meeting to strengthen economic and financial cooperation between the six member countries. "They also discussed matters related to the monetary union and the customs union," he added.
Earlier, addressing the meeting, Al-Attiyah urged member countries to sort out all outstanding issues related to a customs union as quickly as possible for the benefit of GCC citizens and to strengthen the group's economic integration.
"GCC citizens are looking forward to benefit from the fruits of economic integration, especially a customs union," Al-Attiyah told the meeting.
He said the GCC leaders have instructed ministerial committees to discuss the most suitable mechanisms in order for all member countries to reach an agreement on completing requirements for the customs union.
"The leaders have also urged the committees to adopt necessary measures to facilitate the movement of trucks between GCC customs centers," the secretary-general said.
Al-Attiyah reminded member countries that they have to make concessions to reach a quick agreement. "This committee which set out the basis of a customs union is capable of removing all obstacles facing the union," he said.
The GCC chief warned that any failure on the part of ministers to reach an agreement on outstanding issues would have a negative impact on joint GCC work. Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf led the Kingdom's delegation to the conference.
Saudi Arabia and five other Gulf Arab countries including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have formed a GCC customs union, which imposes a common external tariff for products imported from outside their bloc.
After a relative lull, steel demand began soaring in the second half of 2009 in Saudi Arabia, fueled mainly by massive state spending by the world's top oil exporter on infrastructure to diversify its economy and counter the effects of the global economic downturn.
The GCC finance ministers are also discussing proposals from Qatar to set up a regional bank for international aid and a Bahraini proposal to set up a stabilization fund to aid troubled GCC economies should the need arise.
The current meeting is setting the agenda for Tuesday’s summit. "There is no consensus over these two proposals. The monetary union council should decide whether there is a need for stabilization fund. As for the Qatari proposal, there are some voices within the GCC that question the need for a new aid institution," an official said.
