RIYADH, 9 December 2006 — The secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council said yesterday that the Sheikh Jaber Summit, which is scheduled to take place here today, would address the situation in Iraq, Iran’s nuclear program, regional security agreements, a unified currency and other important issues related to the welfare of the Gulf citizen and mutual agreements between GCC countries.
“The meeting will include security and political developments, such as the topic of combating terrorism and Iran’s occupation of three islands claimed by the UAE, as well as relations with Iran and the Iranian nuclear project,” Abdulrahman Al-Attiya, GCC secretary-general, told the Saudi Press Agency.
He said the leaders would also touch upon the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the bloodshed in Darfur, and the situation in Lebanon following this summer’s skirmishes with Israel.
“What Lebanon is going through is a matter of concern,” said the GCC chief. “We at the GCC hope that wisdom will prevail and that all parties will be responsible and combat the threats of division and disunity.”
Ministers from the GCC states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Oman will also discuss advancing the unified Gulf market, which currently includes favorable trading status among member states.
Al-Attiya also mentioned that member states would address the issue of granting all GCC citizens equal rights of accommodation, movement, health services and property ownership. “Regulations have been approved throughout the GCC that enable a GCC citizen to practice any trade in any of the GCC countries and receive the same treatment as a citizen,” he said.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad Al-Sabah, who attended a ministerial meeting of the group on Thursday, said that there were many regulations that needed to be implemented by GCC countries concerning inflation rate, unemployment, and the deficit of each country before the region could share a unified Gulf currency.
Commenting on Oman’s unwillingness to be part of the proposed GCC currency, he told the daily Asharq Al-Awsat that this doesn’t “hinder the development process” of a unified currency any more than the UK’s unwillingness to join the euro hindered the unified European currency.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah decided to name the 27th GCC summit after the late Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah, who passed away earlier this year. The 26th council meeting took place in the UAE last year.
