JEDDAH, 19 November 2006 — Leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council will hold their next summit in Riyadh on Dec. 9 and 10 to explore ways of further bolstering cooperation and take up joint stances on major regional and international issues, most importantly the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Iraq’s security and territorial integrity.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is hosting the summit, the first such meeting held in Riyadh after his accession to the Saudi throne in August last year.
A staunch advocate of empowering the GCC, Abdullah has often urged member countries to stand united to strengthen their position on the world stage.
Foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will meet in Riyadh on Tuesday to finalize the agenda for the summit conference after going through the recommendations of the various ministerial panels for promoting cooperation in the areas of defense, security, economy, health, water, electricity and others.
“The GCC foreign ministers will also discuss joint projects of member countries as well as major developments at regional and international levels,” GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah said in Riyadh yesterday.
The Riyadh meeting will review progress on the GCC customs union, the common market, the monetary union, joint currency, joint water and railway projects, economic relations with other blocs and the impact of expatriates on the demographic structure of the Gulf states.
The last GCC summit was held in Abu Dhabi to discuss a proposal made by GCC labor ministers to restrict the stay of expatriate workers in the member states to a maximum of six years.
“The ministerial council after discussing the issue in detail recommended that the proposal be returned to the labor ministers for further study,” the GCC secretray-general said.
Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said the proposal was made last year in anticipation of international pressure to naturalize expatriates who have been living in the region for long periods.
The Gulf countries fear that naturalization of the huge expatriate populations would have economic, social, demographic, political and security consequences.
There are about 12 million foreigners living in the GCC states and their number, according to informed sources, is increasing by five percent every year.
“Joint efforts to counter terrorism will figure high on the ministers’ agenda,” said Attiyah.
Iran’s occupation of three UAE islands, Tehran’s controversial nuclear program, the Middle East peace process, Lebanon, Sudan and Somalia are other issues to be discussed by the ministers.
“The ministers will not issue any communiqué and their meeting will be kept open until just before the opening of the summit in order to give their recommendations on the latest issues and developments,” Attiyah said.
The GCC interior ministers, who met in Abu Dhabi last week, have called for an integrated regional plan to confront terrorism. They have also set up a permanent panel to combat terrorism and deal with related issues.
Interior Minister Prince Naif emphasized the need for a comprehensive plan to protect security of member countries, taking into consideration the different aspects including deterrent and preventive measures.
The Abu Dhabi summit supported the proposal made by King Abdullah toward developing the Peninsula Shield. It urged the council of GCC defense ministers to study the proposal and make their recommendations to the upcoming Riyadh summit.
