ROME, July 2, (KUNA): The short-comings facing the euro currency and means to face such problems would be very useful input for the GCC states’ intentions to form a unified GCC currency, said an official here on Friday. Director of the Board for the GCC Monetary Council Dr Mohammad Al-Jasser told KUNA on the sideline of the Euro-GCC forum for heads of monetary unions that the meeting was part of a long history of events aimed at bolstering economic relations between Europe and the GCC region. Benefit from the negative and the positive aspects which surrounded the formation of the euro currency would provide a good blueprint to establish the long sought GCC unified currency, stated Al-Jasser, adding that such a step should be backed up by strong political will in the GCC.

The GCC should also benefit from the lesson from the recent global economic crisis, noted Al-Jasser, hoping that steps to establish the unified Gulf currency would be carried out in a thoughtful manner.
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdul Rahman Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah will visit the Arab World Institute (IMA) in Paris next Monday to sign a convention and hold talks with senior members of the staff. Al-Attiyah will meet with IMA’s President Dominique Baudis and Director-General Mokhtar Taleb-Bendiab, as well as with Board Chairman Bruno Levallois.

During Al-Attiyah’s visit, IMA and the GCC are to sign a “framework convention” to promote cooperation between the two bodies, IMA said in a statement. A visit is also being organized to the site of the new IMA museum, whose construction is underway and which was strongly supported by Kuwait. HH the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jabber Al-Sabah was the first to give concrete support to the museum project with a donation of one million Euros ($1.25 million at today’s rates) during his visit to IMA in 2006, when he was on an official visit to France. In May, Kuwaiti Ambassador to France Ali Sulaiman Saeed announced that HH the Amir was now giving three million euros to IMA, a gesture that Baudis described as “unprecedented support” for his institute. The latest donation will be spent on the exhibition and library space, IMA officials said.

Saeed said at the time that the donation “reflected the belief of His Highness the Amir in the role played by the institute in bringing Arab and European cultures closer together.” Kuwait has always had close ties with the IMA and has been a keen backer of its function to promote Arab culture, as well supporting links and dialogue between occidental and oriental civilizations.
In several interviews with KUNA, IMA President Baudis has expressed his appreciation for the support given by Kuwait through the settlement of outstanding dues and through HH the Amir’s donations and the political support from high-level visitors to the institute, like HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
The IMA President said Kuwait “spares no efforts” in supporting IMA’s activities and in seeking to help bolster dialogue and cultural cooperation between the two parties, which have “good relations.” He also strongly praised in an interview the “leading role” taken by HH the Amir in helping launch the three-million euro museum project by being the first to commit one third of the financing nearly four years ago.
In addition, HH the Prime Minister frequently fits in a visit to IMA despite a busy schedule when he is on official visits to France, Ambassador Saeid pointed out.
HH Sheikh Nasser is an avid Francophile and is greatly appreciated by the IMA staff.