Coordination is key to the success of a Gulf common market

The agreement to set up the Gulf common market, which was launched at the 28th GCC summit in Doha, came into force as of January 1.

GCC citizens and observers monitor with interest the implementation process that may face difficulties due to the contradiction of the agreement's terms with local laws and regulations in each Gulf country. People are seriously concerned that relevant bodies in each country would not be able to deal with the terms and conditions of the market agreement.

However, the anticipated outcomes will be significant, and will have positive impact on the economies of GCC countries. Among these is the smooth flow of commodities, services, work force, and capital, as well as the implementation of the concept of Gulf citizenship in all transactions in the six-GCC nations.

The previous experiment on the implementation of the Customs Union and unified customs tariff, which faced many obstacles, still stands as evidence of possible hurdles.

The major challenge that faced the unified customs tariff was that customs authorities had asked for the issuance of certificates that foreign commodities were imported before January 2003, otherwise customs duties must be levied.

This has hindered the implementation of agreements, raised concerns, and caused a delay in the completion of their transactions. This can be attributed to fear of change by the staff of customs departments, who got used to the routine procedures.

Now, it is necessary that all concerned bodies are kept informed and updated on the developments, to ensure smooth implementation of the common market. For instance, most of staff at customs departments may not have heard about the Gulf common market, while others do not know what does it mean, especially those who have been in service for more than 20 years.

Therefore, it is very important to hold training courses for all workers to familiarise them with the terms of the common market agreement, and inject fresh blood into these departments. This not only applies to customs departments, but to financial markets, economy and trade departments, property registers and social security, pension and labour departments.

Meanwhile, local rules and regulations that contradict the agreement must be amended as soon as possible, and the implementation of the agreement's terms must be given a priority.

The same method was applied at the Common European Market. First, employees and department managers were prepared for implementation of the agreement, and when it started, priority was immediately given to the agreement, in case any of its terms contradicted local rules, which ensured smooth implementation.

GCC leaders exerted great efforts and showed keen interest to implement the GCC common market on time, without obstacles or delay.

What is required now is for concerned bodies to respond to the leaders' efforts and facilitate the implementation of the agreement, to allow all GCC countries to benefit from its positive outcomes.

Perhaps some obstacles will emerge, which is understandable even in big blocs such as the European Union, but the agreement of GCC countries to set up an independent judiciary body to solve any problems, whether between departments, companies or individuals, is a reassuring step. It will enhance the legislative and legal structure of the GCC bloc, and accelerate solving any problems that may hinder the implementation of agreements.

Meanwhile, economy and finance ministries should solve some pending issues, such as the distribution of the revenues of customs duties and agree over the distribution mechanism, to prevent it from becoming an obstacle.

The writer is a UAE economic expert.