Established on 25 May 1981 on the basis of an agreement concluded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is an economic and political group composed of the Gulf States of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The GCC, which comprises the core of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, spans a total area of 2.5 million square kilometres and, in 2008, had a combined population of about 38.6 million and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$1.054 trillion.

The GCC controls more than half of the oil reserves of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and, along with Iran and Iraq, accounts for more than 30 per cent of the world's crude oil exports. Given the key role of oil in the world's economy, the development of the region and of the GCC, in particular, has global importance.

While they experience high growth rates, the economies of the GCC are poorly diversified due to their heavy reliance on hydrocarbon resources. From 2004 to 2008, the GCC had an average real GDP growth rate of 6.9 per cent, derived mainly from oil and gas exports. Oil primacy in national agendas generally affects the overall prosperity of most GCC states. Bahrain and Oman — the only two non-OPEC states in the GCC — need higher break-even oil prices in order to have the balanced budgets that are necessary to sustain growth. Given their relatively similar economic structures, trade among GCC member states is quite limited — at about 10 per cent of total exports or around 5 per cent of total GDP.

The development of the GCC has its roots in politico-economic events that took place in the wider Middle East region. The oil crisis in the 1970s and the 1979 Iranian Revolution traumatized GCC member states. In addition, various Middle East conflicts, such as the 1980 to 1988 Iran-Iraq War and Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990–91, were key factors that shaped GCC efforts towards economic integration.