Engagement in economic activities

1. Effective from the 3rd session of the Supreme Council (November 1982), GCC natural and legal nationals were permitted to engage in several economic activities. Instead of permitting the engagement of GCC nationals in the economic activities and crafts without differentiation or discrimination, controls were developed for the engagement in activities and crafts (8th session, December 1987) and engagement in retail and wholesale trade (7th session, November 1986).
2. The usual procedure then adopted was that every year new crafts and economic activities would be added to the list of permitted activities. However, resolution of the Supreme Council (21st session, December 2000) allowed engagement in all economic activities and crafts without limitation, excluding 17 activities, which were then limited to the nationals of the member State, subject to the controls adopted by the Supreme Council at its 8th session. All Member States, excluding Qatar, have issued implementing resolutions to this effect.
3. The Resolution of the Supreme Council (23rd session, December 2002) reduced the list of the economic activities and professions whose engagement is limited to the nationals of a member State from 17 to 10 activities. The resolution provided, too, that “the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee shall be authorized to take the decisions relating to cutting or abolishing the remaining economic activities and professions whose engagement is limited to the nationals of a member State.
4. The Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee and its respective subcommittees approved the deletion of certain activities from the said list in the following years; thus reducing the “negative list” to four activities in 2007.

Engagement in Trade activity

a) Retail Trade

The Supreme Council (7th session, 1986) allowed the GCC nationals to engage in retail trade in any Member State and accorded them equal national treatment in accordance with the rules attached to that resolution, which took effect as of 1 March 1987. These rules were amended at the 13th session (Abu Dhabi, December 1992), then at the 21st session (Manama, December 2000). At the 28th session (Doha, December 2007), the Supreme Council approved the improved rules of engagement in retail trade, which had eliminated the restrictions governing this activity.

b) Wholesale Trade

The Supreme Council (7th session, 1986) allowed the GCC nationals to engage in wholesale trade in any Member State and accorded them equal national treatment in accordance with the controls attached to that resolution, which took effect as of 1 March 1990. Those controls were amended at the 15th session (December 1994); the most important of which were the engagement of the natural person in trade by himself and being a resident in the country of activity.