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The 26th summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council was held in Abu Dhabi on December 18-19, 2005. Leaders from the six GCC states convened the organization's Supreme Council to review a host of issues including regional security, economic integration, education reform, and more. Reporting on the summit, called the "Fahd Summit" in honor of the late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, included a
review of key issues published today in Arab News and a host of stories from regional and international outlets. Some of these are provided here for your consideration.
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GCC Calls for Nuclear-Free Middle East
Syed Qamar Hasan, Arab News
ABU DHABI, 20 December 2005 � Gulf Cooperation Council leaders ended their summit yesterday calling for a nuclear-free Middle East and backing a Saudi proposal to strengthen the Peninsula Shield, a joint force of the six-member GCC.
The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates appealed to the international community to make the Middle East, including the Gulf region, a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, the final communiqu� said.
The summit called on �Israel to adhere to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to open all its nuclear installations for international inspection.�
Amid mounting international pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiya urged Tehran to join the group in its pledge to keep the region free of nuclear weapons.
UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Nuaimi demanded environmental �guarantees and protection� from an Iranian nuclear plant on the Gulf coast.
�We are in a region very close to the (Iranian) nuclear reactor in Bushehr. We have no guarantees or protection against any leakage (from the reactor) which is on the Gulf coast,� he told reporters after the summit.
The UAE minister commented on a message from Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa to the GCC summit, in which Moussa expressed his �concerns about Israel�s nuclear program�.
�We share his concerns... but we in the Gulf also have our own concerns and fears,� Nuaimi said. �I hope that Amr Moussa would take into consideration the GCC states when he talks about the concerns of the Arabs,� he added, in reference to Iran�s nuclear program.
Israel is widely believed to possess around 200 nuclear warheads, making it the only nuclear power in the Middle East, although it has never admitted to having atomic weapons. According to the communiqu�, the summit supported the proposals made by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah toward developing the Peninsula Shield. It urged the council of GCC defense ministers to study the proposals and make their recommendations to the next summit, which will be held in Riyadh.
The GCC leaders also lauded the legislative elections in Iraq and hoped that the results �would turn a new page in the history of Iraq which would secure the territorial integrity of Iraq and its stability�. UAE President Sheikh Khalifa ibn Zayed Al-Nahayan opened the summit on Sunday urging GCC members that they had to move more rapidly to integrate their economies and reform their educational and political systems in order to meet the aspirations of their peoples.
The �Abu Dhabi Declaration� of the GCC leaders talked about the need for a radical modernization of the education systems. It also called for greater efforts to promote scientific research and technological development.
The summit did not discuss the proposal made by GCC labor ministers that restricts the stay of expatriate workers in the member countries to six years, Al-Attiya said.
�The ministerial council after discussing the issue in detail recommended that the proposal be returned to the labor ministers for further study,� the GCC chief said.
The summit welcomed Saudi Arabia�s joining of the World Trade Organization and affirmed that the move would support the GCC�s march forward and as an important element in creating a stable global economy.
The leaders reviewed progress on GCC Customs Union and its positive impact in increasing inter-GCC trade and endorsed a proposal exempting certain commodities from customs duties. The provisional dateline for achieving the Customs Union was extended to 2007.
On the issue of GCC common market, the council reviewed the progress made during this year, particularly in the area of buying and trading shares. A proposal by the economic and financial cooperation committee to extend the scope of economic activities for GCC nationals to include ownership of recruitment offices, car rental and cultural activities was adopted by the council.
Source: Arab News
Reprinted with permission.
26th GCC summit concludes, issues final communiqu�
The leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) concluded their 26th summit in Abu Dhabi today. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz headed the Saudi delegation to the summit, which was named the �King Fahd Summit.� In its final communiqu�, the GCC Supreme Council lauded the outcomes of the third extraordinary Organization of the Islamic Conference summit held recently in Makkah, as well as the resulting Makkah Declaration.
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Landmark decisions at end of GCC summit
By Muawia E. Ibrahim
ABU DHABI � Leaders of the six GCC member states wrapped up their 26th Summit here on Monday with a set of landmark decisions on the most sensitive dossiers in the fields of security and defence, economy, terrorism and peace in the Middle East.
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Gulf summit stresses regional stability
ABU DHABI, Dec. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Gulf Arab leaders placed top emphasis on maintaining regional security and stability during a two-day summit which wrapped up here on Monday amid rising concerns over Iran's nuclear program and the international probe of the killing of Lebanon's ex-premier Rafik
al-Hariri.
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Saudi to host next summit
ABU DHABI: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud yesterday invited GCC leaders to the next GCC summit to be held in Saudi Arabia.
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Gulf summit and the internal agenda
Gulf, Politics, 12/19/2005
The the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) 26th ordinary summit which was opened in Abu Dhabi on Sunday will consider several internal issues, especially extending work in the interim phase of the Customs Union and the electricity and water grid projects among the member states and the timetable program for the monetary Union. The agenda also includes completing all basics needed for the GCC common market which will be inaugurated by the end of 2007, the monetary union in 2010, and the railway network in addition to considering the report over GCC inter military and security cooperation.
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GCC expects new Iraqi govt to restore stability
ABU DHABI, Dec. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Gulf Arab countries expressed hope on Monday that the new full-term Iraqi government, to be set up after the recent Iraqi parliamentary elections, can help restore stability in the violence-plagued country.
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Gulf summit raps Israel, not Iran, on nuclear issue
ABU DHABI (Reuters) - U.S.-allied Gulf Arab leaders called on Monday for a nuclear weapons-free Middle East, but singled out only Israel, not Iran, despite having voiced alarm at Tehran's nuclear ambitions during their two-day meeting.
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Gulf leaders discuss Iran's nuclear ambitions
Gulf Arab leaders held a closed session in Abu Dhabi today that was expected to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue and the international tension it has caused. Leaders from the six Gulf Co-ordination Council states have been watching with concern Iran�s increasing confrontation with the West over its nuclear ambitions - which have been further exacerbated by recent anti-Israeli comments by Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad.
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GCC lobbies Iran in islands row
Leaders of the Gulf Co-operation Council, GCC, will urge Iran to negotiate an agreement with the UAE over their longstanding territorial conflict about three islands in the Gulf, or refer the case to the International Court of Justice,
ICJ.
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GCC still falls short of expectations, says Khalifa
By Muawia E. Ibrahim
..All the GCC leaders, except the Amir of Kuwait, are taking part in the meeting, dubbed "Fahd Summit" after late King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia. The summit is expected to come up with several recommendations aimed at ensuring regional security and stability. Calling for greater cooperation, Shaikh Khalifa said despite the remarkable achievements of the GCC, they still fall short of the expectations and aspirations of the people, who yearn for speedy realisation of the noble objectives for which the organisation was founded 25 years ago.
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Iran N-Program No Threat: GCC
Syed Qamar Hasan, Arab News
..GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiya said the GCC does not fear Iran�s nuclear program, as long as it is for peaceful applications. �If it is not for peaceful applications, then the program becomes unjustified and the issue cannot be neglected,� he said. He said the GCC states have confidence in Iran, �but we do not see Iranian nuclear reactor as a cause of danger and instability to the region.� �We expect Iran to be rational in dealing with the nuclear issue, that it meets peaceful purposes without inflicting damage on its neighbors,� he added.
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Educational reform tops summit agenda
By Hakam Kherallah
ABU DHABI � The rich agenda of the 26th GCC summit that opened in the capital yesterday is an indication of the leaders� stress on the relevance of the six-member bloc, despite the view of many that progress was slow on a number of issues that relate, directly or indirectly, to the lives of the region�s people. There is an overriding view among top officials and analysts at the two venues of the summit (Hilton Hotel and Emirates Palace Hotel) that internal issues are taking centrestage in the discussions, but not at the expense of regional and international issues. Education and economic issues appeared to be central issues necessary for the progress of the six-member bloc. Top officials emphasised that the proposed changes to educational curricula are not dictated by �foreign agenda�.
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