Manama: Leaders of six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are expected on the second day of their summit to approve a time frame for the establishment of the Monetary Union.

The union, a key integration project, will pave way for the creation of the GCC Central Bank that will launch the bloc's common currency.

Other impressive projects on the agenda include the Customs Union, the electricity network project and the railway authority, all of which are expected to boost the international economic power of the 28-year-old Gulf alliance.

The Monetary Union treaty has been ratified by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar. Oman in 2006 opted out of the union while the UAE, the second largest economy, has withdrawn from the union after it opposed the choice of Riyadh for the headquarters of the GCC central bank.

However, efforts are being deployed to bring the two countries into the union.

GCC Secretary General Abdul Rahman Al Attiyah said that Oman and the UAE "are pioneers in the joint Gulf action and have always taken the lead in implementing resolutions of Gulf summits ... so they are always at the centre of the common Gulf action."

Kuwait's finance minister Mustafa Al Shamali on Friday said that Kuwait would seek the return of both countries to the Gulf Arab unified currency plan.

"This would strengthen the economies of the region and turn it into an economic bloc of (importance) that would be taken into consideration globally," Al Shamali was quoted as saying by KUNA.

On Monday, the first day of the summit, the GCC leaders, following an open and a closed-door sessions, officially launched the $1.6 billion electricity network project that will provide electricity for the six member states, meet power demands and avoid shortages.

The leaders used computer screens to sign virtually the documents and launch the joint venture.

The electricity project has three phases. The first links Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, while in the second phase, the power grids of the UAE and Oman will be interconnected. The third and final phase, scheduled for the second quarter of 2011, will connect the six countries in a single power grid network.

The GCC leaders are also expected to approve a time frame for the launch of the railway authority.

The heads of state, who began in Kuwait City their two-day summit yesterday with an overwhelming support for Saudi Arabia in resisting armed assaults against its territories, will also discuss a host of political, security, economic, environmental and cultural issues of mutual interest.

They will also review military coordination and cooperation and dialogues with other friendly nations and blocs, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) said.

In his opening remarks, the Amir of Kuwait Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, condemned the cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed the GCC's overwhelming support for the measures by Riyadh to defend the security and sovereignty of its territory.

The Kuwait summit is the first since 1990 that is held while a member state is involved in an armed conflict. Kuwait in 1990 had faced the invasion by neighbouring Iraq.

Shaikh Sabah condemned the terrorist attacks in Baghdad killing and wounding dozens of innocent civilians, and urged the Palestinians to unify their ranks.

Resolutions and the final communiqué are expected to touch upon the situations in Iraq, Palestine and Yemen as well as the Middle East peace process. None of the GCC countries has diplomatic links with Israel.

The GCC countries will voice grave concern over the ongoing violence in the northern Yemeni areas and will express their support for the stability, security and sovereignty of the Arab country.

Yemen is not member of the GCC, but it is involved in several cooperation areas with the Gulf alliance.

The GCC heads of state will also tackle the Iranian nuclear program and will reiterate the significance of reaching a peaceful settlement for the Iran-West standoff.

On Saturday, Bahrain's foreign ministry has insisted that the GCC be represented in the ongoing talks between Iran and the world's major powers, saying that the Gulf would be the main region to be impacted by any of the decisions made during the negotiations.