ABU DHABI: Leaders of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) began their annual summit conference here Monday, voicing determination to strengthen their unity and further bolster their political, economic and defense cooperation.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah sent a cable to the GCC leaders wishing them success at their summit meeting. “Although I am not able to be with you because of health reasons, my heart is with you thinking about our historic responsibility,” he said.
The king thanked the leaders for their good words and feelings toward him, saying it lessened his health problems. He reiterated his commitment toward Arab and Islamic causes.
Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, president of the last GCC session, congratulated the leaders over the successful back surgery of King Abdullah at a US hospital recently.
Speaking at the summit, he prayed for King Abdullah’s quick recovery in order for him to play a leading role in the GCC’s forward march. Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif is leading the Kingdom's delegation to the summit on behalf of the king.
“I am honored to participate in the summit on behalf of King Abdullah,” Prince Naif said in an arrival statement in which he also praised the efforts made by UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan to make the conference a big success.
“This summit is held during an extremely delicate time, which demands intensive efforts to realize the vision of King Abdullah and other GCC leaders to strengthen the bloc and achieve greater integration,” Prince Naif said.
The summit is expected to focus on a spate of political, economic and security issues including Middle East peace, Iran's disputed nuclear program, global terrorism and the GCC currency union.
King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain called for greater unity among the member countries to face challenges. “The resolutions to be taken at the summit must prove that we are determined to strengthen our Gulf unity,” he said.
Sheikh Sabah congratulated Qatar for winning the right to host the 2022 soccer World Cup. “It is a great victory not only for Qatar but for the whole GCC as well as all Arab and Islamic countries,” he said.
The Kuwaiti ruler commended Saudi Arabia’s successful efforts to foil terrorist attacks by conducting pre-emptive strikes against terrorist cells. He also voiced the GCC’s solidarity with the Kingdom in its fight against terrorism.
The summit coincides with the start in Geneva on Monday of a new round of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers. The West says Iran's nuclear program is geared toward acquiring nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge, insisting its objective is to generate electricity.
Ahead of the summit, a senior UAE military commander underlined the need for a region-wide missile defense system, warning of the threat of ballistic missiles.
"We must be prepared to defend our people, our nation and our region against any emerging threat," Maj. Gen. Ali Al-Kaabi, the UAE's deputy chief of staff, told a defense conference on Sunday.
"The threat of attack by long-range ballistic missiles remains clear," he said. "Many countries have ballistic missiles, some of which are working on weapons of mass destruction like nuclear, chemical or biological. If any of these weapons were launched, thousands or even millions of lives could be lost".
The UAE is looking for the GCC to be part of the negotiations between Iran and the West — reflecting Gulf nations' feeling that they are directly threatened in the conflict.
"We are not part of the problem, but we want to be part of the solution," said a UAE government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. "We cannot continue to live in the shadow of this threat."
The threat from an increasingly active Al-Qaeda in Yemen is also high on the agenda of the Gulf leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.
Meanwhile, Sultan Nasser Al-Suwaidi, the governor of the
UAE central bank, said his country has no plans to stop pegging its currency to the US dollar. “The UAE stance remains unchanged,” he said on the sidelines of the summit. The UAE and Oman have said they would not join the other GCC states to set up a unified currency, a step that seems key to bringing the Gulf economies closer. Arab News
