GULF ARAB MINISTERS DISCUSS ECONOMIC COOPERATION

  Finance and economy ministers of the
  Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) opened a two- day meeting to
  discuss further economic integration, officials said.
      They said issues to be discussed by the ministers from
  Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
  Emirates (UAE) would include a recommendation by central bank
  governors on a common currency exchange rate.
      The governors agreed in January on a denominator on which
  to base currencies of the six states. Any decision will be
  forwarded for final approval to a GCC summit meeting due in
  Saudi Arabia late this year.
      The six states have different currency systems. Saudi
  Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE are linked in theory to the
  International Monetary Fund's basket of currencies -- the
  special drawing right (SDR) -- but in practice to the dollar.
      Oman links its currency formally to the dollar, while
  Kuwait pegs its dinar to a trade-weighted basket devised by
  itself.
      The denominator chosen by central bank governors has not
  been disclosed, but some bankers expect the currencies to be
  linked to the SDR or a trade-weighted basket.
      Opening the meeting, Ahmed al-Tayer, the UAE's Minister of
  State for Finance and Industry, said implementation of joint
  economic agreements "is increasingly linking the interests of
  GCC citizens together."
      The general assembly of the Gulf Investment Corporation met
  in Abu Dhabi earlier under the chairmanship of Bahrain's
  Finance and National Economy Minister, Ibrahim Abdul-Karim
      The corporation was formed to contribute to joint economic
  and investment projects in the GCC.
      Officials said the corporation's assets rose to 1.31
  billion dollars last year from 1.04 billion at the end of 1985.
  

