MANAMA, 5 December 2004 — Oman’s Foreign Minister Yussef ibn Alawi Abdullah yesterday called for a new Gulf economic grouping, uniting the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council with Yemen, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan.
“In the Gulf, we need more cooperation than security arrangements because there are no threats in the region,” the Omani minister said on the sidelines of a conference on regional security. “In the future, the GCC countries could consider creation of a new organization with Yemen, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan, based on cooperation, particularly economic cooperation,” he added.
On Friday, Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed ibn Mubarak Al-Khalifa also called for “new institutions” to lay the ground for lasting peace in the Middle East.
Among those participating in the conference were ministers from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar, as well as officials from Australia, Britain, France, Singapore and Yemen.
Stephen Hadley, US national security adviser in waiting, and the head of US Central Command, Gen. John Abizaid, also attended.
