Essay --

Introduction The United Arab Emirates has been a member of several regional organizations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) being a prominent example. This paper will provide a description of the participation of the United Arab Emirates in the GCC as well as a summary of its history. The purposes and specific goals that the UAE had when joining the GCC will be highlighted in addition to discussing the resulting contributions to its economy. The stated goals and purposes of joining the GCC will then be used to determine whether the initiative to join the regional body has been a success or a failure. The paper will conclude with an attempt to find out if the GCC will be important to the future development of the United Arab Emirates. Description and History The United Arab Emirates has been a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council since it was founded on 25th May 1981. Other founding members include the State of Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, State of Qatar, Sultanate of Oman, and the State of Kuwait (Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, 2012). A framework for the body was agreed upon during a meeting of heads of state in Abu Dhabi and it was a product of previous planning as well as an embodiment of social, cultural, and historical reality. Another reason that led to the formation of this regional body was the kinship that existed among the citizens of these six states as well as the religious and cultural ties (Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, 2012). In addition to these historical similarities, the founding states also faced the same challenges such as security and economic development. It is therefore correct to state that the GCC was formed as a result of the historical realities... ... got from the GCC states in 2012. However, the UAE needs to change its approach to the GCC especially when it comes to the creation of a common currency. According to Takagi (2012), the GCC states have practically used a common currency over the past decades owing to the fact that five of the countries have pegged the value of their currencies to the US dollar. Kuwait is the only country that floated its currency; however, the value its currency has remained stable with respect to the dollar. My recommendation to the UAE is for it to become willing to compromise and accept the formation of the GCC monetary union in order to ensure that it continues to benefit from the regional body. The decision to compromise might also lead to increased cooperation between the six states meaning that the initial goals and objectives of the Gulf Cooperation Council can be achieved.