JEDDAH, 27 May — GCC leaders concluding a consultative meeting here yesterday urged India and Pakistan to show maximum restraint and cooperate with global mediation efforts to defuse the explosive situation between the two Asian nuclear rivals.
Addressing the one-day summit, Abdul Rahman Al-Atiyya, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, called upon the two Asian neighbors to settle their disputes peacefully through dialogue.
He said the GCC leaders had reiterated their commitment to peace as “a strategic choice of the Arab Ummah” and rejected all forms of violence. They saluted the Palestinians for their heroic resistance to the Israeli occupation forces.
Asked whether the renunciation of violence included Palestinian bombers, Al-Atiyya said: “The legality of resisting occupation is recognized by all international laws.”
The summit was attended by Prince Abdullah, the regent, Sheikh Hamad of Qatar, King Hamad of Bahrain, Sheikh Khalifa ibn Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Fahd ibn Mahmoud Al-Saeed, deputy premier of Oman, and Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, first deputy premier and foreign minister of Kuwait.
The GCC leaders also heard new ideas and proposals presented by Prince Abdullah on strengthening the council which groups Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. “The leaders have instructed their foreign ministers to set out mechanisms to implement the Saudi ideas and proposals,” he said.
“The GCC leaders expressed their deep concern over the dangerous situation in the subcontinent and urged India and Pakistan to show maximum restraint and return to the positive atmosphere they had in the past,” the GCC chief said.
“The two countries should also cooperate with international mediation efforts aimed at containing the crisis and try to resolve their conflict through dialogue and peaceful methods,” Al-Atiyya said.
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, who attended the meeting, said the summit leaders had discussed a number of important topics, especially on strengthening GCC ties.
Al-Atiyya said Prince Abdullah had briefed the GCC leaders on the outcome of his talks with US President George W. Bush, especially on his initiative to establish peace in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia has been at the forefront of Arab efforts to strike a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians since Arab states endorsed Prince Abdullah’s land-for-peace proposal at their Beirut summit in March. “The GCC leaders expressed their support for the efforts to activate the Arab peace plan,” the secretary-general said. “They consider the peace plan as the basis for any move to establish a just and comprehensive peace in the region,” he added.
Al-Atiyya commended the results of Prince Abdullah’s US visit, saying it was instrumental in bringing about a “positive change in American stand on the Palestinian issue.” He expressed the hope that Washington would take further steps to bring the peace process back on track in order to help restore Arab rights.
In his first address to the summit after taking over two months ago, Al-Atiyya highlighted the suffering of the Palestinians in the wake of brutal Israeli attacks. He condemned the state terrorism practiced by Israel.
The GCC chief called on Iraq to translate into action whatever has been agreed to improve the situation and to fully implement the UN Security Council resolutions. “We do not wish that Iraq or any other Arab state be subjected to any action that may harm its people,” he said in reference to US threats to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime.
On the economic front, the leaders reviewed a report by Al-Atiyya on the implementation of the GCC’s modified economic agreement, which envisages the establishment of a customs union by January 2003, a monetary union by 2005 and a single Gulf currency by 2010.
The European Union has insisted that the GCC must have its own customs union before it signs a long delayed free-trade agreement with the Gulf states.
GCC and EU experts were to meet in Riyadh today for talks aimed at finalizing the free-trade accord between the two blocs. “GCC countries want to close negotiations and sign a free-trade accord with the EU as quickly as possible,” Al-Atiyya said. Al-Atiyya expressed the hope that the planned visit of Sheikh Hamdan ibn Zayed, UAE state minister for foreign affairs, to Tehran would strengthen ties between the two Islamic states and reinforce peace and stability in the Gulf region.
