Finance ministers and central bank governors of the Six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) said Saturday they expect their economies to grow despite the global financial crisis and a sharp drop in oil prices. In a statement issued at the end of an emergency meeting to hammer out a coordinated response to the global financial crisis, the GCC reaffirmed its confidence in the stability of its financial sector. “The growth rates are high and all indications show that the member states' economies are strong as the inflation rates are decreasing,” said Saudi Finance Minister Dr Ibrahim Al-Assaf. The GCC economies will continue to maintain a good growth rate ranging between 4 percent and 6 percent in 2008 despite the global economic slowdown, he said. Dr. Al-Assaf stressed the importance of enhancing coordination among monitoring bodies. He said the crisis requires global cooperation and coordination, and welcomed the convening of the G-20 Summit on November 15 to discuss the crisis. GCC officials underscored the “strength and solvency” of the financial sector in the GCC countries and stressed they can weather any impact from the global financial crisis, the statement said. They voiced satisfaction over measures taken in the region to deal with any impact from the world economic crisis and expressed readiness to take any additional measures, the statement said. The agenda for the one-day meeting included discussion of new steps to shore up confidence in their banking sectors while reviewing regional investment plans. Part of the aim of the GCC summit was “bolstering confidence in Gulf (stock) markets,” GCC Secretary General Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah said ahead of the conference. He insisted that the fall seen across Gulf markets in recent weeks was “unjustified.” “Gulf financial markets initially have no links to the real reasons behind the (global) crisis,” he said. Al-Assaf said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank should carry out the role expected from them in such crises by supporting the developing and poor countries. He also lauded the announcement made by the IMF for securing $200 billion in easy loans. He also stressed the importance of continuing efforts for liberating trade and investment. The Riyadh meeting comes three weeks before the United States hosts an unprecedented summit of the world's richest nations and emerging economies to discuss the global financial crisis. – Okaz/With agencies __
