Qatar urges creation of Gulf development bank

Qatar will propose Gulf states create a regional development bank similar to that in Europe at next month's rulers summit in Kuwait, the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council said on Tuesday.

Abdulrahman Al Attiyah, secretary-general of the economic bloc, made the remarks on Al Arabiya televison.

Attiyah said the proposal from Qatar, the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, was aimed at "establishing a development bank for the GCC, similar to the European development bank, which will undoubtedly contribute to enhancing the GCC joint work," he said.

Rulers from the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman – will also try to move the long-planned monetary union pact closer to fruition at the summit.

The single currency excludes the UAE and Oman which have both dropped out.

Attiyah said on Tuesday Qatar has ratified the monetary union agreement, the second nation to do so after Saudi Arabia.

"We are looking forward to seeing concerned countries ratify the pact in order to establish the monetary council," he said.

Kuwait's parliament delayed the voting on the monetary union pact until December 4.

Bahrain's upper house of parliament is expected to ratify the pact this week after it passed the lower house last week.