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Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz opening remarks at the 27th summit of
the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),
December 9, 2006
Dear Brothers, Your Excellency and Highnesses the leaders of the
states of the Gulf Cooperation Council:
Peace be upon you and God's mercy and
blessings.
I am pleased, on behalf of the Saudi people and
for myself, to welcome you in your second home, the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, and pray to God this meeting will be successful and
to come out with tangible results that are reinforcement and
strength to the Gulf and our Arab and Islamic nations.
At the commencement of our activity, I would
like to thank my dear brother His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zaid
Al-Nahian, the President of the United Arab Emirates, for the
wisdom he exhibited while he was chairman of the summit and I wish
him everlasting success. Since this is the first time for us
to meet after the death of our dear brother His Highness Sheikh
Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, the Emir of the State of Kuwait, may God
bless his soul, we have named this summit after him in recognition
of his efforts to serve cooperation in the Gulf.
Dear Brothers:
This annual meeting is an opportunity to review
what we have accomplished and we could not accomplish for one
reason or another during the past year. When evaluation is
measured by the dimensions of the political reality and what could
be accomplished, the assessment is that we have reached acceptable
political and economic accomplishments. But when it is
measured by the aspiration of our people and what is necessary for
this era, the assessment is that everything we have achieved is
little and far from the ambitions of our people. Evaluation
does not mean despair or dejection. On the contrary, it is a
rejuvenation of resoluteness and a garnering of support. All
the dreams that seem impossible today could be within the reach
tomorrow, with the help of God, genuine intentions and sincere
efforts.
Dear Brothers:
The Arab region is beleaguered with dangers, as
if it is a powder keg awaiting a spark to explode. Our basic
concern is the issue of precious Palestine, remaining between an
aggressive occupation that has no fear of a witness or judge, a
world community watching the bloody tragedy as a bystander and
more dangerously a dispute between the brothers. In Iraq,
the brother is still killing his brother and this beloved country
is very close to sliding into the darkness of dissection and the
insane strife. In dear Lebanon, we see dark clouds
threatening the unity of the country and warnings of a new slide
toward the nightmare of a disastrous struggle between the people
of the same country. In our Gulf, there are a number of
suspended issues and some policies and directions are engulfed in
ambiguity.
Faced by these problems we have to stand in one
line like a solid wall and speak in a single voice representing
the whole Gulf area. With this one row and one voice we can
assist the brothers in Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon and support our
Islamic nation everywhere.
Dear Brothers:
When we speak about economic citizenship we
find that we have made progress. Still there are many things
ahead of us need to be done before we can claim that we have
achieved complete economic unity and that a GCC citizen receives
the same treatment in every GCC state. The obstacles that
block the way are real, and I am not attempting to lessen their
importance. The reservations that slowed progress did not
come from one or two nations, but each one has a share. The
dream of the economic unity should not depart our eyes for a
single moment. Without unity, we are only small entities
affected but have no effect. With unity, we can be a power
that can not be ignored.
Dear Brothers:
In the name of God we start and by His guidance
we proceed depending on Him alone, He is the best to protect and
the best to help.
Peace be upon you and the mercy and blessings
of God.
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