Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Atiyyah, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), confirmed here today that the GCC member countries were exerting strenuous efforts to complete the Customs Union before holding the forthcoming GCC summit in Abu-Dhabi in December this year. In press remarks following the convening of the GCC 12th Consultative summit, Al-Atiyyah said the leaders of the GCC have taken several steps during their meeting here earlier today to further facilitate the flow of goods at common border exits, urging the members to benefit from the experience of Bahrain, a GCC member state, in the field of flexible customs measures. Relevant proposals were also discussed as regards the issuance of transit visas for drivers of cold-store trailers and trucks, he said. In reply to a question on the dateline of establishing the GCC Central Bank, Al-Atiyyah said the GCC Monetary Council is scheduled to hold five meetings over this year to meet the needs of constituting the bank. On the three Iran-occupied UAE islands, Al-Atiyyah confirmed that the issue was discussed during the meeting in view of collective security principle for the group's countries, noting that the GCC member states do support all initiatives taken by the UAE as regards its sovereignty.
