(RTTNews) – The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) concluded its two-day annual summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday with the bloc’s leaders vowing to support the initiative of Saudi King Abdullah to transform the GCC into a single powerful regional entity.
The proposal to transform the GCC into a union of Gulf states, which will herald a new era of Gulf cooperation amid changing regional alliances, figured prominently in the final communique issued by GCC Heads of State, the Arab News reported on Wednesday.
“A special Gulf authority comprising three nominated representatives from each GCC member-state will be set up to study all aspects of the strategic move that calls for forging a single regional alliance,” said GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif Al-Zayani.
The summit called on Syria to stop the bloodshed in that country. Syria must embrace and implement all of the Arab League plan it has signed calling for withdrawal of troops from populated areas, release of prisoners and starting dialogue with the Opposition. “If the intentions are pure, these steps must be taken immediately,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told reporters.
The statement also urged the Syrian government to “immediately halt its killing machine, put an end to bloodshed, lift all signs of armed conflict and release prisoners, as a first step toward implementing the (Arab) protocol” that Damascus signed on Monday.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Al-Maqdad signed the accord after weeks of prevarication in the hope that the Arab League will lift sweeping sanctions imposed on the Assad regime. The plan also calls for a complete halt to violence, release of detainees and the complete withdrawal of the military from towns and residential districts.
Referring to Morocco and Jordan, the statement said the Gulf leaders agreed to create a $5-billion fund to finance development projects in Jordan and Morocco. “The GCC has decided to create a Gulf Development Fund, which begins by providing support to development projects in the Kingdom of Jordan and the Kingdom of Morocco worth $2.5 billion for each,” said the statement read out by Al-Zayani.
It called on Iran to stop meddling in the internal affairs of the GCC countries. “Stop these policies and practices … and stop interfering in the internal affairs” of the Gulf nations, the statement said and expressed concern over attempts by Iran to “instigate sectarian strife.”
The GCC also urged Tehran to “fully cooperate” with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and work to resolve regional conflicts “peacefully,” adding that the GCC nations were still committed to a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.
by RTT Staff Writer
