MANAMA, 8 December 2004 — The Gulf Cooperation Council yesterday called on Iran to respond to steps taken by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to find a resolution to a territorial dispute.
Foreign and finance ministers of the six-nation bloc, meeting in Manama to prepare for the 25th Gulf summit to be held on Dec. 20-21 in Bahrain, called upon Iran to resolve the dispute over the three islands of Greater and Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa.
“The dispute should be solved,” Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed ibn Mubarak Al-Khalifa told the opening session of the ministerial meeting.
UAE President Sheikh Khalifa ibn Zayed Al-Nahayan earlier said the dispute could be solved through bilateral negotiations or international law.
Iran gained control of the three islands after British forces left the Gulf in 1971. They lie roughly half way between the Iranian port of Bandar-e-Langeh and Dubai.
In a speech marking the 33rd anniversary of the creation of the UAE on Thursday, Sheikh Khalifa called for settling the issue “through direct dialogue and talks according to a clear-cut agenda or as per the principles of the international law, including the referral of the case to the International Court of Justice, if necessary.
“We believe that the best way to iron out differences between nations is through building good relations based on mutual respect, neighborliness and reciprocal interests,” he said in the speech.
“This environment opens promising horizons for fruitful cooperation between the countries of the region on one hand and with other countries of the world on the other.”
The ministers are meeting for two days in the Bahraini capital to discuss the agenda of the annual summit.
“Terrorism is on the agenda of the summit. We (the Gulf nations) have already signed an agreement to combat terrorism. We need to fight terrorism, money laundering and drugs,” said Sheikh Mohammed.
The minister called upon the international community to work together and reinforce property and stability in war torn Iraq.
“We are worried about the current situation in Iraq,” he said, adding that Israeli aggression in the Palestinian territories was another “worrying” issue.
“We renew our call to the international community and peaceful nations to be responsible and restart the peace process in the Middle East starting with the Palestinian conflict.”
The upcoming summit will discuss a range of political and economical issues including the review of extending insurance protection to GCC nationals in both the private and public sectors in all six member states and the unified GCC monetary and the unified Gulf market.
— With input from agencies
