http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/30/content_10581893.htm
MUSCAT, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Gulf leaders are discussing the naming of a possible single currency across the region, a well-informed Omani source revealed Tuesday.
The single currency may be called "Karam," which means honor in Arabic, or "Gulf dinar," the source said.
The source added that the heads of state of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have reached consensus on issuing the single currency in 2010 in accordance with the plan.
The 29th annual GCC summit continued its second-day session in the Omani capital of Muscat, with key focus on approving a long-planned agreement to adopt a single currency in the Gulf region.
On Sept. 17, GCC's finance ministers have hammered out a draft agreement on the monetary union, which involves a single currency and a unified Gulf monetary authority, two key steps toward economic integration.
The draft deal has been referred to heads of state for approval at the ongoing Muscat summit.
Convinced by the success of euro zone, the Gulf leaders decided in 2001 to set up a monetary union and adopt a single GCC currency in 2010, a key step toward full regional economic integration.
However, Oman announced in 2006 that it would not join the single currency by the self-imposed 2010 deadline, and Kuwait said in 2007 that it will peg its currency dinar with a basket of main currencies instead of the dollar alone, giving a further blow to the tentative project.
The Omani source said if Oman cannot join the single currency in 2010, it could be issued initially in other Gulf nations.
Established in 1981, GCC is a regional political and economic alliance aimed at enhancing cooperation among its six member countries.
The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which pumps 16 million barrels of crude oil per day and possesses about 45 percent of the world's proven crude reserves.
