E. S. BIRYUKOV
Candidate of Economic Sciences, MGIMO University, Russian Foreign Ministry
GCC Keywords:, Russia, foreign economic cooperation
The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain-are important for the global economy. Since the second half of the 20th century, the region's place in the world economy system has been determined by the supply of energy and raw materials resources - these countries account for about 40% of the world's proven oil reserves and more than 20% of gas reserves.
Over the past two decades, the GCC countries have been modernizing their economies to diversify their economic structure through the development of services and non-primary industries; investment flows are being reoriented to national economies, private sector development is being stimulated, foreign technologies are being attracted, and efforts are being made to train national personnel.
Although the stable economic development of these countries continues to depend on high oil prices on the world market, which is confirmed by the share of raw material revenues in total export revenues: 94% in Kuwait, 80% in Saudi Arabia, and only in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain-less than half of export revenues: 36 and 26%, Accordingly, 1, but the engines of GDP growth in the Gulf countries over the past decade are processing industries and the service sector, which are significantly ahead of the extractive industries in terms of growth rates. The share of non-primary industries in GDP, in contrast to exports, in the region's countries already exceeds 50% (with the exception of Saudi Arabia and Qatar).
With a population of 44 million people (including foreign labor)2, the total GDP of the "Arabian six" in 2010. It amounted to $1.042 trillion, or 1.7% of global GDP.3 In the context of high oil prices on the world market, the GCC countries annually receive a significant inflow of petrodollars from foreign t ...
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