He said it bears a great responsibility to advance economic integration to its highest levels by monitoring progress toward economic unity among GCC countries and accelerating the resolution of obstacles affecting the implementation of GCC decisions, agreements, and regulations related to economic and development affairs.
These remarks were made during the seventh meeting of the Permanent Preparatory Committee at the ministerial level for the Economic and Development Affairs Authority, held today, Thursday, October 9, 2025, in the State of Kuwait. The meeting was chaired by His Excellency Dr Subaih Abdul Aziz Abdul Muhsen Al Mukhaizeem, Minister of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy, Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment of the State of Kuwait—president of the current session—and was attended by Their Excellencies the Ministers of Economy of the GCC states.
At the beginning of his speech, His Excellency Mr Albudaiwi extended his deepest thanks, appreciation, and gratitude to His Highness Shaikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait, for Kuwait's hosting of this blessed meeting. He also expressed gratitude for the facilities and support Kuwait has provided and continues to provide for the success of the GCC's work, and for the backing and attention that joint Gulf action receives from His Highness and from Their Majesties and Highnesses, the leaders of the GCC countries.
"The economic indicators demonstrate the size and importance of the GCC at the regional and international levels. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current prices for the GCC countries reached approximately 2.3 trillion US dollars in 2024, ranking 9th globally in terms of GDP size. The Council's member states contribute around 63% of the total Arab GDP at current prices." His Excellency said, adding: "The asset size of the Council's sovereign wealth funds is estimated at about 4.8 trillion US dollars, representing more than 32% of the total assets of the 100 largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. The GCC countries rank first globally in oil production, with crude oil production volume exceeding 16.1 million barrels per day. They also rank first globally in crude oil reserves, which amount to approximately 512.1 billion barrels. The volume of marketed natural gas production in the GCC countries reached about 444 billion cubic meters, placing the Council's nations third globally in natural gas production. Meanwhile, their natural gas reserves amount to approximately 44.3 trillion cubic meters, ranking them second in the world."
His Excellency affirmed the commitment of the Office of the Economic and Development Affairs Authority at the GCC General Secretariat to implementing the decisions issued by the Economic and Development Affairs Authority and "your esteemed committee".
"This has resulted in numerous achievements and specialised initiatives. Over the past period, the Office has prepared more than 30 studies and working papers, 8 of which focus on supporting the achievement of the final status of the Customs Union, addressing its obstacles, and the GCC Common Market. The remaining studies concentrate on other vital and strategic topics of an economic and developmental nature. The Office has also developed more than 20 reports on global economic developments and their impact on the Council's member states and has held specialised training programmes aimed at building the capacity of qualified GCC personnel in the fields of economic modeling and foresight for future economic and developmental integration." His Excellency stated.
"Furthermore, the Office is currently implementing important projects, most notably the project to build an integrated GCC economic model. This model will contribute to the decision-making process, enhance the ability to evaluate policies, and make forecasts. The Office is also preparing the Economic and Development Integration Index, which will provide indicators that quantitatively measure the level of integration among the Council's member states, in accordance with scientific methodologies and standards that align with the best international practices." His Excellency concluded.