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GCC States’ GDP Projected to Reach $6 Trillion in 2025

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Reuters)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Reuters)
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GCC States’ GDP Projected to Reach $6 Trillion in 2025

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Reuters)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Reuters)

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi affirmed that GCC countries hold a significant economic status globally, with the GDP reaching approximately USD2.1 trillion in 2023.

AlBudaiwi projected the GDP of GCC countries will reach $6 trillion by 2025.

The Secretary-General’s remarks came as he participated in the Gulf dialogue session, held as part of the Asian Financial Forum 2025 sessions in Hong Kong, with the participation of the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and a number of senior economic officials from the GCC countries.

The total sovereign financial assets in the GCC countries amounted to around $3.2 trillion, accounting for 33% of the total sovereign assets worldwide, Albudaiwi added.

Albudaiwi highlighted that the GCC countries hold the top global ranking in crude oil reserves and production, and also lead in natural gas reserves, while ranking third globally in natural gas production.

He underscored that the GCC’s balanced policies have contributed to the stability of energy markets by providing secure and stable supplies of oil and gas to global markets.

The Secretary-General mentioned that the GCC's significant economic potential creates numerous opportunities for cooperation with Hong Kong, a leading Asian financial center.

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Libya Devalues Currency for First Time in Four Years 

People sit by at the newly refurbished Martyr's Square in the Libyan capital Tripoli on April 4, 2025. (AFP)
People sit by at the newly refurbished Martyr's Square in the Libyan capital Tripoli on April 4, 2025. (AFP)
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Libya Devalues Currency for First Time in Four Years 

People sit by at the newly refurbished Martyr's Square in the Libyan capital Tripoli on April 4, 2025. (AFP)
People sit by at the newly refurbished Martyr's Square in the Libyan capital Tripoli on April 4, 2025. (AFP)

Libya's central bank announced a 13.3% devaluation of the country's dinar currency on Sunday, setting the exchange rate at 5.5677 to the US dollar effective immediately.

This is the first official devaluation since the bank agreed to a devalued exchange rate of 4.48 dinars to the dollar in 2020.

The parallel market exchange rate is currently at 7.20 dinars to the dollar.

In September last year, the dinar slid against the US dollar in the black market due to a crisis over control of the central bank that slashed oil output and exports.

The crisis was resolved later in September following an agreement signed by representatives of Libya's rival eastern and western legislative bodies. The agreement, facilitated by the United Nations, paved the way for the appointment of a new central bank governor.

In November, the eastern-based parliament speaker reduced the tax on foreign currency purchases to 15% from 20%. The tax is added to the rate when people buy foreign currencies from commercial banks.

Libya has been plagued by instability since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, leading to a split in 2014 between eastern and western factions, each governed by rival administrations.

The spending of the two governments in 2024 totaled 224 billion dinars ($46 billion), including 42 billion dinars for crude-for-fuel swaps, the central bank said in a statement on Sunday.

Public debt stood at 270 billion dinars, it said, projecting that it could exceed 330 billion dinars by the end of 2025 due to the lack of a unified budget.

In December, Stephanie Koury, deputy head of the UN mission to Libya, urged the country's decision-makers to "urgently agree on a framework for spending in 2025 with agreed limits and oversight".