On Rajab 21, 1401 AH, corresponding to May 25, 1981 AD, their Majesties and Highnesses, the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, the State of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, and the State of Kuwait, in a meeting held in Abu Dhabi, reached a cooperative formula that includes the six countries aimed at achieving coordination. Integration and interdependence between their countries in all fields, leading to their unity, in accordance with what was stipulated in the Statute of the Council in its fourth article, which also emphasized the deepening and strengthening of ties, connections and aspects of cooperation between the citizens of the Council countries. The starting points were clear in the preamble to the Basic Law, which stressed the special relations, common features, and similar systems that bind the six countries, based on the Islamic faith, belief in a common destiny and unity of purpose, and that cooperation among them only serves the lofty goals of the Arab nation.
The decision was not a spur of the moment, but rather an institutional embodiment of a historical, social and cultural reality, as the GCC countries are characterized by the depth of religious and cultural ties and family mingling between their citizens. These are generally factors of rapprochement and unification that were strengthened by the flat geographical area across the coastal desert environment that embraces the inhabitants of this region and facilitates Contact and communication between them created an interconnection between the residents of this region and homogeneity in identity and values. If, for these considerations, the Council is a continuation, development and organization of ancient and existing interactions, then from another angle it represents a practical response to the challenges of security and development. It also represents a response to the aspirations of the people of the region in recent decades for a kind of regional Arab unity, after it was not possible to achieve it at the comprehensive Arab level.
The statute of the Cooperation Council specifies the Council’s objectives in achieving coordination, integration, and interconnection among member states in all fields to achieve their unity, strengthening ties between their peoples, and establishing similar systems in various economic, financial, commercial, customs, and transportation fields, and in educational, cultural, social, health, media, and tourism affairs. Legislative, administrative, and advancing scientific and technical progress in the fields of industry, mining, agriculture, aquatic and livestock resources, establishing scientific research centers, establishing joint projects, and encouraging private sector cooperation.