By Xinhua
Doha : The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC) would make a united move if it were to decide on a currency revaluation or de-peg from the U.S. dollar, local daily Gulf Times reported on Monday.
Saudi Arabian Finance Minister Ibrahim bin Abdul Aziz al-Assaf said here on Sunday that “We would do it as a block” if there were any decision on the currencies amid the high inflationary pressures of the waning dollars on their economies.
Al-Assaf also disclosed that GCC finance ministers will not discuss revaluation of GCC currencies or cutting links to the greenback at their meeting ahead of the summit of the GCC, which groups Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
“It was not on the agenda,” he was quoted as saying.
Kuwait’s Finance Minister Mustafa al-Shamali and his Qatar counterpart Yousef Hussein Kamal also confirmed that the currency issue was not included in the agenda.
The six oil-rich GCC countries are under pressure to abandon their policy of pegging currencies to the greenback after the dollar’s plunge this year.
In May, Kuwait decided to peg its dinar to a basket of currencies after more than four years of linking it to the dollar in a bid to reduce inflation.
The 28th annual summit of the GCC is to kick off later in the day, with all heads of state of the six GCC members and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad expected to attend.