Addressing the 2nd Inter-Arab Trade Conference in Doha, Abdul Rahman Al Attiyah, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, said that the volume of pan-Arab exports grew from $13.3 billion in 1998 to $17.6 billion in 2003. According to al Hayat newspaper, he added that the GCC states contribute some 70% of these pan-Arab exports.
Al Attiyah added that the GCC states absorbed 55.3% of the pan-Arab imports in 1998 and 55.6% in 2003.