JEDDAH, 8 September 2003 — The GCC countries yesterday expressed the hope that the UN Security Council would set a timetable for the stay of US-led occupation forces in Iraq.
“We expect the UN Security Council to come out with a resolution setting out a timetable for the period of stay of the allied forces in Iraq,” Qatar’s Sheikh Hamad ibn Jassem Al-Thani told a meeting of GCC foreign ministers.
The Gulf Cooperation Council, which groups Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait, reiterated its call for a greater UN role in Iraq to establish peace and stability in the country.
Sheikh Hamad welcomed the creation of the Iraqi interim Governing Council and described the formation of its first postwar Cabinet as a step in the right direction.
Sheikh Hamad, whose country currently holds the GCC presidency, said he hoped “the transitional Iraqi Governing Council will be able to draft a constitution and organize elections.”
The ministers were to discuss the question of Iraqi representation at Arab League meetings. A US diplomat in Cairo said there was “a virtual consensus” on allowing the Iraqi delegation to take part in the Arab League meeting, due to start in the Egyptian capital tomorrow.
Iraq’s newly appointed foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, said yesterday that he would leave for Cairo in the hope of taking part in the Arab League meeting.
In his opening address to the Jeddah meeting, Sheikh Hamad urged member states to take a leading role in shaping the future of the region, instead of reacting to events as they unfolded.
