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The Secretariat is based in the city of Riyadh. The GCC headquarters are located in the Diplomatic Quarter, where a substantial complex, financed by a gift from King Fahd, has been built to meet the Secretariat’s present and future needs.
The constitution of the GCC precisely reflected King Fahd’s own view of the importance of seeking ways to make the unity of Arab States a reality. The constitution required the organization to provide “the means for realizing coordination, integration and cooperation” in economic, social and cultural affairs. Specifically, the GCC aimed:
– to achieve coordination, integration and close ties leading to unity between the Member States;
– to deepen the ties, relations and all aspects of cooperation between the peoples of the region;
– to adopt similar systems and laws in: economics and financial affairs; commercial, customs and transportation affairs; education and cultural affairs; social and health affairs; communication, informational, political, legislative and administrative affairs;
– to encourage progress in the sciences and technologies involved in industry, mining, agriculture, water and animal resources, and to establish scientific research centers and to undertake joint projects.
Inevitably, when independent sovereign States come together to seek a degree of integration, progress depends on consensus. In this context, the GCC has achieved much in its twenty years.
