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| Saud Slams Neighbors for Undermining GCC Solidarity |
| 2004-12-06 |
| Saudi Arabia yesterday criticized its neighbors for forging separate economic and security agreements with foreign powers, accusing them of weakening Gulf solidarity. "It is alarming to see some members of the GCC enter into separate bilateral agreements with international powers in both the security and economic spheres, taking precedence over the need to act collectively," said Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal. "These separate arrangements are not compatible with the spirit of the charter of the Gulf Cooperation Council. They diminish the collective bargaining power and weaken not only the solidarity of the GCC as a whole but also each of its members in both the intermediate and long terms," he told a conference in Manama on security in the Gulf. "In the economic sphere, the agreements entered into are in clear violation of the GCC's economic accords and decisions. What is more important, these agreements impede the progressive steps needed to achieve full GCC economic integration... They will ultimately have a negative impact on the economic sectors in all GCC countries, which in turn will have dire consequences and will adversely affect the GCC business community," he said. The GCC, which groups Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is due to hold a summit in Manama later this month. Saudi Arabia is the only GCC state that is not a member of the World Trade Organization. "In the military sphere, any agreement with a third party cannot compensate or substitute for the necessity of developing the indigenous resources of the GCC," the foreign minister said. In2002 , Kuwait renewed for a second10 -year term a defense pact with the United States and it also has a defense pact with Britain. Qatar also signed a defense agreement with the United States in2002 . Prince Saud stressed that the GCC states must realize that their individual and collective needs are best served by uniting economically and militarily, and developing a clear security strategy. GCC foreign and finance ministers will meet in Manama tomorrow ahead of this month's GCC summit, which is to focus on economic integration and fighting terrorism. The meeting will review progress on plans for a common market and a unified currency ahead of the Dec.20 - 21summit in the Bahraini capital, GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah said in a statement from the group's Riyadh headquarters. In their bid to establish a monetary union in2005 , a common market in 2007 and a single currency at the start of2010 , the GCC states have agreed on several key criteria to bring their economic and fiscal policies closer. The ministers will also discuss relations with other economic groups, including the European Union, in addition to regional and international developments and combating terrorism, Al-Attiyah said. Their meeting will also focus on the situation in Iraq, developments in the Middle East peace process and relations with Iran, including its territorial dispute with the UAE over three strategic islands, he added. Al-Attiyah has also said that the summit will discuss a feasibility study by Kuwait to build a railway linking the GCC states. |
| Posted by:tipper |