‘Made in the Gulf’ initiative to drive GCC integrated industrial growth, says Qatar Chamber chairman

Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani has underscored the value of increasing efforts to strengthen economic and industrial co-operation amongst countries in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).
This elevates the GCC as a vital economic bloc on a global scale considering that Gulf countries have the capacity and a “strong will” to realise this objective amid economic and geopolitical challenges in the international and regional arena, he pointed out.
Sheikh Khalifa made the statement in Al Moltaqa, the chamber’s monthly economic magazine, where he underscored the significance of economic and industrial integration amongst GCC countries – a primary goal for all Gulf nations.
“Through it, we can form this regional economic bloc that can impose itself on the global economic arena, which witnesses many regional blocs. Moreover, economic integration, if it is achieved, will contribute to attracting more foreign capital to the countries of the region,” Sheikh Khalifa emphasised, citing the launch of the ‘Made in the Gulf’ initiative during the Consultative Meeting between their Excellencies the GCC Ministers of Commerce and Industry and the Heads of the GCC Chambers of Commerce held in Doha last May.
“There is no doubt that the Gulf private sector plays an important role in enhancing the economic co-operation between the GCC countries by increasing its contribution to economic activity and reflecting this on intra-Gulf trade and raising it to higher levels, in addition to enhancing co-operation between business sectors in the Gulf countries,” he said.
Sheikh Khalifa explained that ‘Made in the Gulf’ aims to promote economic integration of industrial development and maximise the benefit from the “positive mental image” of products from Gulf countries.
He said the initiative also supports increasing joint projects of the Gulf private sector and public and private partnerships, in addition to optimally utilising the more than 60 economic zones in the GCC.
Sheikh Khalifa also expressed confidence that ‘Made in the Gulf’ will usher in trends in the GCC that would realise economic citizenship, streamline customs procedures for Gulf products, encourage local and foreign investments in the industrial sector, and boost the efficiency of the special economic zones in GCC countries.
He added that the initiative will help promote industrial development in the GCC, maximise the volume of investments in the Gulf industrial sector, contribute to achieving Gulf industrial development on an integrated basis, and increase the industrial sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product in GCC countries.