Personal ID Will Suffice for Travel to Bahrain

RIYADH, 5 November 2007 — Saudi Arabia and Bahrain signed yesterday an accord that will allow citizens from both countries to travel to the other using their personal ID cards.

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif and his Bahraini counterpart Gen. Sheikh Rashed Al-Khalifah signed the agreement during the 26th meeting of GCC interior ministers, which was held here yesterday.

“This step will be followed by others in the remaining member states soon,” said GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah during the closing session. “This will no doubt increase communication and have positive effects on labor and other bilateral matters.”

Al-Attiyah noted that the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman have implemented a system of traveling via ID cards. Kuwait and Qatar are the remaining GCC states to implement such a system.

The meeting was attended by Prince Naif, who represented Saudi Arabia as the host of the current GCC presidency, Bahrain’s Sheikh Rashed, Oman’s Saud Albousaeedi, Qatar’s Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani, Kuwait’s Jaber Al-Sabah and GCC Secretary-General Al-Attiyah.

Prince Naif emphasized the need to strengthen security cooperation between GCC countries to fight terrorism, smuggling, money laundering and other crimes. “Strengthening cooperation in security matters is a strategic objective and we are all working to realize it,” Naif said, while calling for exchange of information.

Prince Naif stressed the strategic importance of the Gulf region being the main supplier of world energy requirements. “This demands that we do more in order to raise the level of our security cooperation in tune with new developments,” he said.

During the meeting, GCC ministers noted the importance of the member states cooperating on security matters, stressing that GCC security was a responsibility of all. They stressed the importance of condemning terror in all its forms, adding that defeating terrorism was a global effort. The ministers commended the efficiency of Saudi security units in tracking down and capturing terrorists. They also expressed solidarity with Saudi efforts to combat terrorism.

“GCC security agencies must be ready to confront the forces of evil, terror and destruction from within and outside their countries,” said Prince Naif.