The Secretary General of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdurrahman Al-Atiyyah inaugurated here on Saturday evening a workshop on the GCC railway project. The workshop was organized by the GCC General Secretariat with the participation of experts form the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the UN's development program. Speaking on the occasion, Al-Atiyyah said the project of the railway has come in line with a decision from the GCC Supreme Council. The decision was based on the outcome of the primary studies conducted in 2006 which proved the soundness of the project, he said. Al-Atiyyah noted that the GCC General Secretariat has agreed with a number of international experts to prepare elaborate studies on the project which aims at facilitating transportation of the GCC citizens as well as transportation of goods and commodities. He pointed out that the economy of the GCC has become one of the most important economies in the world because the gross national product in these countries has amounted to about $900 billion. Al-Atiyyah said the project will pave the way for social ad economic integration and create job opportunities for the GCC citizens. The GCC is made up of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
