The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, has brought tensions over cooperation under control amid the pandemic. In mid-April, following a virtual meeting, the bloc’s countries agreed to identify a network to ensure the safety of food materials, with Saudi Arabia and Dubai strangely setting aside their existing anger in Qatar over terrorist investment groups, leading to a broad boycott (by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and others) of this country that remains in place. And while this cooperation is a remarkable step, the bloc has not combined, as some Western scholars have suggested, to lead the global reaction to COVID-19.
In addition to facilitating food protection, GCC countries are very confident to fight the pandemic on their own. Acting individually, GCC countries have followed some of the strictest measures in the world, adding location-based contract tracking. Kuwait has taken the most drastic measures, adding the closure of government ministries until May 31 and extending the national curfew until four in the afternoon, while most Gulf countries have closed entertainment centers and mosques telling others to pray at home. These countries, necessarily denying civil liberties, have been lucky to fight the pandemic, yet it is precisely because of this illiberalism that the GCC is not ready to lead any kind of global response.
GCC countries are also facing an economic slowdown, although their member countries offer billions of dollars in aid systems that dwarf anything seen before in the region. However, its banks are expected to weaken further, as not all borrowers will be able to cope with the effect of the economic downturn. GCC members, who account for one-fifth of global oil production, have also cut oil production amid falling global oil prices, raising concerns about regional efforts to generate revenue. “Currency reserves cannot sustain existing spending for long,” meaning they “would possibly have to cut spending,” an unnamed Saudi banker said. “These are difficult times. People are starting to communicate and prepare for what might happen. “next.
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