Today, as you all know, oil has scaled new heights at over $ a barrel on most days, the US subprime crisis has unleashed a global credit crunch and the world stands on the threshold of a food crisis due to the soaring prices of basic commodities. Here, in the GCC, we are indeed fortunate on many fronts.
Although we have no desire to destabilize international financial markets, the high oil prices have enabled us to embark on a new program to further modernize our economies, in order to secure prosperity for the long term. However, the rising price of oil, while very welcome, has not come without its own challenges.