GCC Leaders End Summit with Vow to Strengthen Inter-member TiesThe six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) wrapped up their two-day meeting in the Bahraini capital of Manama on Sunday after discussing a wide range of issues concerning inter-member relations and regional situation.The GCC leaders touched upon for the first time the issue of a single currency. They demanded that GCC central bank governors set a timetable for the introduction of the projected currency. And it was decided that a meeting of the finance ministers will be convened in March to tackle details of the issue. The leaders also dealt with other economic issues, including allowing GCC nationals to own real estate in any of the member states, aimed at expanding economic activities for their citizens. Before the close of the two-day summit, the GCC leaders signed a defense pact on expanding a rapid deployment force and establishing an early warning system, and on a project to link the GCC military headquarters. Under the agreement, the GCC joint defense force called " Peninsular Shield," created in 1986, will be enlarged from 5,000 to 22,000 troops in a bid to protect the Gulf states from possible attack. Regarding the Iraq issue, the GCC leaders reiterated a call for Baghdad to comply with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions before carrying out possible dialogues with GCC members, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in particular. The summit decided to form a committee in charge of explaining GCC members' position on the Iraq issue. The GCC leaders called on Iran to cooperate with the GCC in solving its dispute with the the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over three islands in the Gulf, namely the Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa. The summit reiterated support for the Palestinian people's struggles to restore their legitimate rights and establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. The GCC, a regional political, economic and military alliance founded in 1981, groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. GCC Leaders Sign Defense AgreementLeaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) signed in Manama on Sunday a defense agreement on expanding the alliance's joint rapid deployment force.This move was aimed at enhancing joint defense and security and further strengthening relations between the six Gulf monarchies, according to the 21st, two-day GCC summit which opened here on Saturday. The GCC, a regional political, economic and military alliance, groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Under the agreement, which was concluded by the Gulf chiefs of staff in September and approved by their defense ministers in October, the size of a joint defense force called "Peninsula Shield" would be enlarged from 5,000 to 22,000 troops. Created in 1986, the force is headquartered at Hafar al-Batin, in northeastern Saudi Arabia. The agreement also stipulates that a telecommunications project estimated to cost 70 million U.S. dollars would be established to link the military headquarters of the GCC countries. An 80-million-dollar project would also be set up to link the radar networks of the Gulf Arab states. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |