Gulf states are not likely to delay their monetary union plan after the United Arab Emirates abandoned the project, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) secretary-general said in remarks published on Monday.

The UAE, the second-largest Arab economy, broke ranks with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain last week by withdrawing from the single currency plan in protest of a May 5 decision to base the joint central bank in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

"I don't see a delay... of the monetary union project," Abdul-Rahman Al-Attiyah said, according to Saudi business paper Al-Eqtisadiah.

"We look forward for the project to go on with the blessings and involvement of all GCC countries after the differences that caused their withdrawal subside."    

The GCC said earlier this year that a joint monetary council would decide on a new timetable to roll out the single currency, abandoning an initial 2010 deadline for the common notes and coins.

Gulf states have until December to ratify a monetary union agreement their heads of state agreed to at their annual summit last December, but analysts have questioned whether the UAE's move to abandon the project could derail the project.

Al-Attiyah said that the UAE was still "at the heart" of Gulf cooperation efforts. The GCC is also setting up a common market, including a customs union. - Reuters