On December 9, King Abdullah opened the 27th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Riyadh with a speech firmly endorsing greater economic and political unity for the region.
He stressed regional political and security issues, particularly the challenge of maintaining unity amongst Arabs. He compared the situation in the wider Middle East to a barrel of gunpowder that could explode any moment with a single spark.
All Gulf countries are well aware of the knock-on effect of situations in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon deteriorating further – none more so than Saudi Arabia. The economy would likely suffer, but the main worry would be a higher risk of civil unrest should the Kingdom appear not to be acting in support of Arab neighbors in the region.
As elsewhere in the Gulf, the Saudi government treads a tight-rope between supporting the broader Arab cause, while maintaining strong relations with the West, notably the US.
King Abdullah was clearly emphasizing the link between regional security and long term economic prosperity with his opening remarks. He reccommended the notion of a Peninsular Shield – a united GCC military action force to strengthen the region’s security.
Controversial move
Saudi Arabia has traditionally been a keen proponent of Gulf unity and has in the past been critical of moves it sees as damaging this ideal. It has been particularly critical of the separate Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) member countries like Oman and Bahrain have signed with the US, claiming that they undermine the ability of the GCC to act in the interests of the whole group. Indeed, relations between the Kingdom and Bahrain were noticeably strained after it signed an FTA in 2004. Saudi was particularly concerned that being directly linked to Bahrain, its markets would be flooded with cheap imports.
In addition to the ongoing crises in the Arab world and the findings of the Baker-Hamilton report – the US government’s inquiry into the future of their involvement in Iraq – the two day summit also touched on the stand-off between Iran and the West over its nuclear ambitions. Saudi Arabia, both as an individual nation and through the GCC, has maintained a non-interventionist approach, but also voiced its concerns regarding its apparent aspirations and interference in Iraq and Lebanon through the funding of Shia organizations.
In a potentially controversial move the Council announced that it was considering developing a shared civilian nuclear capability. This would be for peaceful purposes. “It is an announcement so that there will be no misinterpretation of what we are doing,” said Prince Saud al-Faisal. The Gulf Arabs have long maintained their right to develop nuclear energy for non-military use. “We want no bombs,” said a Saudi delegate.
Economic developments within the GCC took a slightly less prominent place in discussions than the pressing political issues. Nonetheless important matters were tabled. The news that Oman would not be joining the EU style monetary union in 2010 came as a blow to the aspiration of forming a single GCC currency. Unofficial sources have said that the Sultanate will not be ready to join at that date as it will not be in a position to meet the criterion specified by the council – the limitation of budgetary deficit, public debt, inflation and interest rates to specific benchmarks and adequate foreign currency reserves.
Common initiatives
The acceleration of the GCC common market and the lifting of trade barriers, the opening up of transport and insurance sectors, and a proposal limiting the time expatriate workers can spend in GCC countries to six years were some of the common initiatives tackled. It is reported that some see this as a way for governments to stave off pressure from international rights bodies to give migrant workers more benefits. There are some 12 million such workers within the GCC and reports put the number in Saudi Arabia in the region of between five and seven million.
The GCC was formed between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait on May 25,1981, at a meeting in Abu Dhabi. The goal was to effect coordination, integration and inter-connection among the member states in all fields in order to achieve unity building on the strong existing ties of kinship and religion on the Arabian peninsular. The Council’s central mandates are to further economic development and maintain regional security.
