# Gulf Cooperation Council The **Gulf Cooperation Council** (GCC) is the regional bloc of six Arab monarchies on the Persian Gulf: [[Saudi Arabia]], the [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Qatar]], [[Kuwait]], [[Bahrain]] and [[Oman]]. Their rulers founded it in Abu Dhabi on May 25, 1981, during the Iran–Iraq War. Its secretariat is in Riyadh. ## How it works The rulers meet once a year as the Supreme Council, the bloc's highest authority. A secretary-general runs the secretariat. Since February 2023 that has been Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi of Kuwait. The bloc coordinates trade and security policy, but its members run their own foreign policies and have ended up on opposite sides of regional conflicts. ## The 2017 split In June 2017 three members, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Bahrain, joined [[Egypt]] in cutting ties with a fourth, Qatar. Kuwait and Oman stayed neutral, and Kuwait mediated. The break ended at the council's 41st summit, in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, on January 5, 2021. See [[Qatar Diplomatic Crisis]]. The two members that led that blockade have since fallen out with each other. See [[Saudi-Emirati Rivalry]]. ## Why it's on the map Gulf governments are among the largest foreign investors in, and lobbyists of, the United States. The council is the room they share, and the 2017 split is the clearest view of how their rivalries reach Washington. See [[Saudi Influence]], [[Emirati Influence]] and [[Qatari Influence]]. ## See Also - [[Saudi Arabia]] · [[United Arab Emirates]] · [[Qatar]] · [[Kuwait]] · [[Bahrain]] - [[Qatar Diplomatic Crisis]] · [[Saudi-Emirati Rivalry]] · [[OPEC]]