E. S. BIRYUKOV Candidate of Economic Sciences MGIMO (U) of the Russian Foreign Ministry Keywords: GCC, Saudi Arabia, economic diversification, structural adjustment The role of the countries of the Arabian Peninsula in the global economy, as is known, is determined by significant hydrocarbon resources - proven oil and gas reserves account for 29.4% and 21.6% of the world's reserves.1 At the same time, their population is less than 1% of the world's population - the six countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf - GCC (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain) are home to 48.6 million people2 (including foreigners - 41%)3. Thanks to their huge hydrocarbon reserves, these countries have managed to overcome their deep socio-economic backwardness in a very short time - over the past decades-and come closer to the industrialized countries in a number of defining indicators. Oil exports have created a national accumulation fund and led to systemic changes in economic development - the import of modern oil equipment, the influx of foreign specialists, the construction of paved roads, seaports and other infrastructure.4 However, in the 1970s and 1980s, no serious steps were taken to diversify the economy. An alarming situation was observed in the early 1980s, when there was a sharp decline in oil prices. If in 1981 the price for a barrel of Dubai crude oil was about $34, then in 1986 it was about $135. Since 1982, the GCC countries have often run their budgets into significant deficits. Under these conditions, the task was put forward to use petrodollars to create other sectors of the economy that would make these states less dependent on oil exports, as well as the import of a wide range of goods, increase the level of economic stability, and create jobs for the local population. Let us consider the main aspects that characterize the GCC economic development model at the present stage. DEPENDENCE ON OIL The GCC ... Read more