Qatar will forge ahead with a Gulf Arab monetary union plan and expressed regret that the UAE had decided to withdraw, a key advisor to the Qatari Emir said today (May 21).

The UAE became the second Gulf state after smaller Oman to withdraw from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) monetary union plan on Wednesday.

'We believe in the common currency for the GCC and we will forge head with the work,' Ibrahim al-Ibrahim said, according to daily al-Arab.

'Really, it is a regrettable thing for the GCC. There are things that are going positively and others that are going negatively.'

The Arabic-language daily also cited Naser al-Kaud, deputy assistant secretary-general of the GCC Secretariat, as saying that Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain were still committed to the common currency.

He added that the UAE withdrawal would weaken the monetary union. – Reuters