Arabs Gulf states invest $140 billion regionally

The International Financing Institute expected that the Arabs of the Gulf cooperation council GCC will invest not less than 140 billion dollars to found regional projects within the two and a half next years.

The institute attributed the reason behind the increase of spending to the prosperity in the stock market and the oil prices increase.

A statement issued by the Institute on Thursday said that this figure is equal to four folds of sums which the GCC Arabs invested within regional projects during the two years of 2002-2003..

In August this year, the institute expected that governments of the Arab Gulf states and investors from the private sector of intention to buy foreign assets of a value not less than 360 billion dollars during this year and next year in the course of deals that are financed by standard oil revenues.

On the other hand, the GCC foreign ministers will hold a preliminary meeting next Sunday in preparation for the GCC council in December.

The participants in the meeting will discuss several important political issues, the project of founding a railway system for the GCC member states, the project to issue the "smart card" and the water linkage project.