It came out of the blue. For months the monetary union in the Gulf had been forgotten. It had disappeared from the media and those few who still remembered its existence were given the glances usyally reserved for lunatics.
Then a few day ago the Secretary General of the GCC, Al Attiya stated that the common currency "is around the corner".
This morning the Arabic press is reporting that at its fourth meeting, the GCC Monetary Council yesterday has approved an institutional framework for the Gulf Central Bank. Almost nobody was expecting such an accelleration in the process and details have not been disclosed, but this is a major breakthorugh. Also the announcement that the Monetary Council will start to recruit staff ia another signal that the project is gaining momentum.