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UAE may also leave GCC after exiting OPEC — expert

According to Karen Young, the war against Iran showed that mutual defense has failed

BERLIN, April 29. /TASS/. The UAE may also leave the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf (GCC) after exiting OPEC and OPEC+, said Karen Young, Senior Research Scholar at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy.

"First and foremost, the war [against Iran] showed that mutual defense has failed," the Berliner Zeitung newspaper quoted her as saying. Young thinks it is possible the UAE will also leave the GCC. Their cohesion is crumbling in any case, the expert noted. "The GCC as a single entity is dead," she believes.

The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf is a regional organization comprising six countries: Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. The organization’s goal is to expand cooperation among member states in all areas and develop common positions on key international and regional issues. The GCC charter states that its members are "united by a shared historical and cultural development and a similar political system" (all member countries are monarchies).

Earlier, the Emirati state news agency WAM reported that the UAE had decided to withdraw from OPEC and OPEC+ effective May 1, 2026. The country assured though that it shares the desire to stabilize the global fuel market. Its oil production policy will take into account global supply and demand, according to the WAM publication.

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