Speeding up the path to economic unity and finishing the GCC Customs Union and Common Market are essential to making Gulf economies more competitive, better able to cope with global change and on course for sustainable development, Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi said today in Manama.

He was speaking at the 10th meeting of the Permanent Preparatory Committee at the ministerial level of the GCC Economic and Development Affairs Authority, chaired by Bahrain's Minister of Finance and National Economy Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, who holds the current presidency. Albudaiwi said the committee's role is becoming more important in steering these projects through policies, initiatives and practical schemes with a visible impact on integration.

Drawing on 2025 figures from the GCC Statistical Center, he said the bloc's gross domestic product at current prices stood at about $2.4 trillion, which makes the member states together the world's ninth-largest economy. Non-oil activity accounted for roughly 79% of output, a sign that diversification is advancing.

Trade among member states, measured by intra-GCC exports, topped $177 billion, up 125% on 2007, underlining the weight of the common market. The stock of intra-GCC investment passed $171 billion, more than 21% of all inward foreign direct investment stock in the member states.