Blow to proposed GCC monetary union: UAE decides to quit

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The UAE has decided not to be part of the proposed monetary union agreement between the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, an official source at the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. According to WAM, the source said the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has been officially notified today of the UAE's decision.

"The UAE extends its best wishes for success to those GCC member states who will join the monetary union agreement, " the source was quoted as saying. "The UAE's past record of implementing the GCC's resolutions is strong proof of its belief in joint GCC action," the source concluded.

On his part, the Governor of the UAE Central Bank, Sultan Nasser Al Suwaidi, said that the UAE will continue to maintain its expansionary monetary policy, without change, and that, therefore, it will maintain its the exchange rate of the UAE dirhams' exchange rate pegged to the US dollar.