Reuters cited Mr Mustapha al-Shamali finance minister of Kuwait as saying that Kuwait and 3 other Gulf countries are still committed to the Gulf monetary union plan.

Mr Mustapha al-Shamali said that "Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries are still committed with this agreement and we are all going ahead with what we've agreed on. There is no change in the stance of Kuwait."

He said that he was not officially informed of the UAE's decision to withdraw.

Another Gulf source said that Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain are committed to the monetary union. The source said that "Monetary union will be weakened but it is also a loss for the UAE because it is losing a competitive advantage of being part of a bloc.”

It said that "And of course the bloc will have more options in terms of monetary policy and fiscal policy that would be more appealing to foreign investors."

(Sourced from Reuters)