The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a regional, intergovernmental, political, and economic union and military alliance, not an Indian act or scheme. It was formally established on May 25, 1981, with the signing of its Charter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The six member states are the Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The GCC was created in response to regional instability in the late 1970s and early 1980s, particularly the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the start of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980. The problem it aimed to solve was the need for collective security and cooperation among the Gulf monarchies to safeguard their political systems and economic interests, which are heavily reliant on oil revenues. The Charter's basic objectives are to achieve coordination, integration, and interconnection in all fields, including economic, financial, and legislative affairs.
The GCC's mechanism is governed by three main bodies: the Supreme Council, composed of the heads of state, which is the highest authority and meets annually; the Ministerial Council, composed of foreign ministers, which meets every three months to implement the Supreme Council's decisions; and the Secretariat-General, which is the administrative arm. Article 4 of the Charter emphasizes strengthening relations and promoting cooperation among the citizens of member countries. Key provisions include the implementation of a customs union in 2015 and the rollout of a 5 percent value-added tax (VAT) starting in 2018. For security, the Peninsula Shield Force, a joint military venture, was created in 1984.
The GCC is connected to broader regional concepts like the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA), of which all GCC members are also a part. It also has related institutions like the Gulf Investment Corporation and the GCC Standardization Organization.
The GCC has seen recent changes in its integration efforts, such as the approval of a new travel system, mirroring the Schengen-style coordination, with a pilot phase scheduled to begin in December 2025 with the UAE and Bahrain. Furthermore, the Supreme Council approved the gradual operation of the Customs Data Exchange Platform during the second half of 2026. While a proposal to transform the GCC into a "Gulf Union" for tighter coordination was made in 2012, it did not fully materialize due to objections from Oman. The long-term goal of a single regional currency, similar to the euro, remains a work in progress, with a Monetary Council established in 2009.