The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is central to the global oil and gas industry, it has been claimed.

Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, chief executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board, made this comment at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, China, recently.

He asserted that carbon-based fuels provide a springboard for financial growth in the region, stating that the GCC's strength at the heart of the world's oil and gas industry will allow for diversification and expansion.

This, he explained, will allow the conglomerate of countries to emerge from the recession as an economic leader.

He posited: "The Gulf is emerging as a third destination vital for a transformational and sustainable recovery.

"The GCC is a single market which still enjoys enviable rates of growth and is approaching $1 trillion in terms of gross domestic product."

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the countries that make up the GCC.

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