Prospect and Problems of a Common Market

Abstract

The paper examines the success and failures of various economic groupings among the OIC countries by estimating a gravity model. The GDP of OIC is only 4.7% of world GDP; its exports are 7.28% of world exports and its imports 6.78% of world imports. This paper primarily presents a synthesis of the Islamic perspectives on the Islamic Common Market (ICM) , reviews the present state of economic integration among the contemporary Islamic countries, identifies relevant tasks for the Islamic governments, and offers feasible recommendations for the governments of Islamic countries within the framework of the prevailing theories of international trade and free market. The establishment of an Islamic Common Market would require a firm political commitment on the part of the Member States of the OIC, expressing their political will and a common understanding on the coverage, extent, mechanisms and stages of implementation, as well as modalities of realization, of such an advanced mode of economic integration.