Sour Grapes

AFP reported on 20 May that UAE has decided to pull out of the planned GCC monetary union. Although UAE officials did not explicitly cite a reason for their withdrawal, observers strongly suspect the government made the decision after the GCC secretariat decided that Riyadh would host the monetary council that governs a unified currency. Not that a monetary union would have ever been achievable in the next year, but pulling out because you were not selected to host the council seems childish at best.

If the GCC as a whole is to achieve any kind of economic stature on the global stage, setting aside petty differences would seem to be goal number one.