RIYADH: The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has been offered a stake in a new union of Mediterranean and European countries because of the growing economic and political influence of its member states.
Hans-Gert Pottering, president of the European Parliament, told a press conference here yesterday that the Gulf states should be granted non-voting membership as observers in the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA).
“It has been proposed that the GCC should send observers to our EMPA,” said Pottering, who is the president of both the European Parliament and EMPA, the legislative body of the proposed Euro-Med union.
The group includes the 27 EU member states and 16 non-EU countries on the Mediterranean coast.
In the press briefing after holding talks with Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, and senior Saudi and GCC officials, Pottering spoke at length about the cultural dialogue among nations to prevent a clash of civilization as well as the Middle East conflict.
Other major issues figured in the talks include challenges posed by global financial crisis, terrorism, democracy and human rights. While supporting the peace initiative of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, he said that he agreed with Prince Saud to adopt a new approach for solving problems in this region.
Pottering’s two-hour meeting with Prince Saud focused as how Arab countries and European Union together with new US President Barack Obama can push the peace process further.
He said more efforts should be exerted to find solutions to the issues and conflicts in the region in a fair and unbiased way so that they gain the trust and respect of peoples of the region, who are longing for peace and stability. He said they also discussed the need of the continuation of dialogue with Iran.
Referring to the proposal to offer observer status to the GCC in the Euro-Med union, he said that the Gulf countries could make a contribution to the development of the Mediterranean politically and economically by accepting this proposal.
He said he hoped that the GCC would approve the idea at its summit meeting in Muscat on Dec. 29 and 30. Pottering’s comments came on the last leg of his four-day Gulf tour that also took him to Oman, Bahrain and the UAE.
Pottering, who was touring the region as part of the EP’s observance of the “European Year of Intercultural Dialogue,” said, “It was vital that we get better mutual understanding of Islam and Christianity; it is a two-way road.”
His talks with senior Saudi and Gulf officials centered around the need of reciprocity by the Muslim world so far as culture and religions are concerned. “I am also happy to note that Saudi Arabia is also opening up,” he said.
