Gulf summits denounces terrorism, presses ahead with economic unity
Gulf-Regional, Politics, 12/23/2003

The 24th Gulf Cooperation Council GCC summit concluded its works in Kuwait following a close door meeting yesterday that lasted for two hours, by issuing a statement under the name "The Kuwait declaration."

The declaration embarked on an agreement to coordinate efforts of the council member states to fight terrorism, and authorized the ministers of the interior to sign an agreement to this effect, later. It stressed the concern of the GCC member states over the acceleration of terrorist operations against certain countries in the region, and support for all efforts aiming at fighting this phenomenon.

The declaration which was read by the secretary general of the council Abdul Rahman Bin Hamad al-Ateyah stressed support of the GCC member states for the political and diplomatic efforts, aiming at restoring back security and stability to Iraq. It denounced operations targeting the civilians in this country.

The declaration asked the American forces to ensure protection for civilians, calling on countries neighboring Iraq to control sneaking persons, while it urged the UN to cooperate with the coalition authority.

The declaration did not ignore the Palestinian question. It rather denounced in its final statement the policy of escalation pursued by the Israeli government in the Palestinian territories. It called in the international community to pressure Israel in order to give up its provocative policy against Lebanon and Syria.

Concerning the Gulf region, the declaration called for development of teaching curricula, stressing the importance of laying the mechanism for reforming educational systems and unifying them in the GCC member states. At the economic level, the GCC summit stressed care to maintain stability of oil markets.

However, GCC leaders started their summit in Kuwait amid tough security measures. The rural of Kuwait stressed in the summit's inaugural speech, delivered on his behalf by the prime minister Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber, the importance of consultations among the GCC member states, and deep study for the successive developments in the region especially in Iraq.

However, Kuwaiti Islamists had called on the GCC leaders to introduce political reforms into their countries, and to work for closing the foreign military bases in the Gulf region, as well as not to be subjected to the pressures of the US concerning educational reforms.

On the economic level, Gulf Daily News said "Leaders approved legislation to outlaw dumping practices, a key obstacle to the smooth implementation of the customs union launched in January 2003, and reaffirmed their commitment to set up a monetary union and a single currency on time..The summit also decided to set up an information centre in Riyadh to link the GCC customs departments, another important step to promote the implementation of the customs union, seen an important step toward moving to the next phase of establishing a Gulf common market."

Previous Stories:
  Female Employers in the AGCC - Gathering   (12/20/2003)
  Workshop in Egypt on human rights in the Gulf states   (12/20/2003)
  Gulf states to discuss US threats against Iraq   (8/24/2002)
  GCC special ministerial session to be held on Wednesday in al-Riyadh   (5/10/2002)

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