아프리카ㆍ중동

The Gulf Cooperation Council comprising of states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman was established under the pretext of economic-trade cooperation in 1981. The Raeson d,etre of the formation of the bloc was a security apparatus on the perceived threats the six Arab countries felt from Iran, occupying the entire northern part of the Persian Gulf. After nearly three decades of close cooperation among the six, the becoming fully-immersed in the globalized world, and benefiting from high oil prices that has brought colossal wealth to the region, the GCC has as a bloc become a bloc on par with ASEAN and the EU.