Arabian Business: Gulf states pledge to continue with monetary union

By Joanna Hartley

Monetary union in the Gulf will continue despite the withdrawal of the UAE, the four remaining GCC countries signed up to the single currency plan have pledged.

Speaking in the aftermath of the UAE’s decision on Wednesday to pull out of the 10 year-old plan, official sources for the GCC, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi said the union would go ahead.

However, they agreed that the union would be weakened by the move, with the UAE being the second GCC member to opt out of the union after Oman pulled out in 2007.