JEDDAH, 18 December 2005 — Leaders of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will meet in Abu Dhabi today to discuss major regional issues and explore ways of strengthening political, economic, security and defense ties.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will lead the Kingdom’s delegation to the summit, which will discuss prospects of issuing a unified ID card for GCC citizens and establishing a railway linking the member countries. King Abdullah will leave for Abu Dhabi today.

GCC foreign ministers met in Abu Dhabi yesterday to finalize the agenda of the summit. “The summit, which is named after King Fahd, is expected to address issues related to combating terrorism and regional issues, including the situation in Iraq and the tension between Syria and Lebanon,” GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiya said.

Leaders will also discuss efforts to set up a common market in 2007, and the monetary union, which will be formed in 2010, UAE news agency WAM quoted Attiya as saying.

The GCC states have already agreed on several key criteria to bring their economic and fiscal policies closer and also approved setting up of a central bank for the group ahead of a monetary union.

The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Attiya said the GCC leaders would reiterate their call to make the Gulf and Middle East region free of weapons of mass destruction.

“We don’t want a nuclear arms race in this region. We are very worried and concerned about this,” he told reporters, referring to Israel’s nuclear facilities and Iran’s nuclear program.

“I think it is time for an agreement to have the Gulf region free of nuclear weapons. ... This will no doubt pave the way to urge Israel to submit its (nuclear) facilities (to inspection),” he told reporters in Abu Dhabi after Gulf foreign ministers met to draft the summit’s agenda.

The GCC leaders will also discuss the tension between Syria and Lebanon after alleged Syrian involvement in the February assassination of Rafik Al-Hariri.

Saudi Arabia had helped broker a deal between Syria and the United Nations by encouraging Damascus to agree to the questioning of five Syrians over Hariri’s death. Syria insists it had no role in the killing.

Attiya said the GCC was monitoring the progress of the UN probe, adding that the group hoped Damascus would cooperate. “We hope that everything will be done in the interest of truth,” he said. “We are confident that the Syrian leadership is aware of all the steps it needs to take to achieve stability and preserve the brotherly and historic ties with Lebanon.”

On the economic front, Attiya said the summit would discuss steps toward launching a monetary union, which analysts said needs a political thrust to move to the next phase.

The talks will also cover a GCC-European Union trade agreement under negotiation for 15 years and which Attiya said the group hoped to finalize early next year.

GCC officials said the summit would also discuss a proposal to restrict the stay of expatriate workers in the six GCC member states to a maximum of six years.

The decision to restrict expatriate workers comes in the wake of growing pressure from international organizations to allow expatriates to settle down in GCC countries and give them equal rights.

Bahraini Labor Minister Majeed Al-Alawi confirmed that GCC labor ministers had submitted the proposal to GCC leaders for action at their summit.

The proposal exempts indispensable professionals and specialists from the six-year rule. Some 12 million foreign workers live in GCC countries, and their number is increasing by five percent every year.

The GCC, which was established in May 1981, has adopted a number of important resolutions at past summits in order to boost cooperation in various sectors.

Sheikh Sultan ibn Zayed Al-Nahayan, deputy prime minister of the UAE, described the GCC as one of the successful regional organizations. “The GCC’s achievements are laudable. It has overcome many challenges in the past years,” Sheikh Sultan said.

— With input from Agencies