Riyadh – Heads of anti-corruption bodies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states adopted on Monday an anti-corruption index that meets global standards of fighting corruption.

Bahrain’s deputy Interior Minister Major General Adel al-Fadel highlighted to Asharq Al-Awsat the importance of the new law because it follows international standards and indexes that deal with corruption.

Al-Fadel headed the 4th GCC meeting for integrity protection and anti-corruption officials at the council’s General Secretariat in Riyadh.

The meeting discussed various topics related to the protection of integrity and anti-corruption in the region, including the guideline for the protection of public funds and means to enhance competency and improvement of the performance of concerned authorities.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, the Bahraini official said that the meeting discussed 11 points, which were mainly focused on the means to promote joint GCC work in the field of protecting public funds and fighting corruption.

He added that the law addresses several corruption indexes, including employees’ general performance, capacity building, misuse of authority, as well as other factors.

Al-Fadel said that the meeting touched on various issues to reinforce Gulf cooperation and integration through mechanisms that could promote integrity and anti-corruption.

Al-Fadel also noted that GCC countries have special anti-corruption bodies that report to different institutions within the state.

He underlined the importance of cooperation between GCC states, in particular with regards to the exchange of expertise and experiences, to prepare for the second session of the review of the implementation of the United Nation Anti-corruption Agreement.

Recommendations made by Gulf workshops on benchmarking GCC practices against global standards and criteria in areas of transparency and integrity were also among issues reviewed during the Riyadh meeting.