LEADERS of the six Gulf countries begin their 28th summit meeting in Doha tomorrow with regional security and monetary union expected to figure prominently in the agenda.
The conference on Monday and Tuesday at Sheraton Doha assumes special importance because of a number of geo-political and economic reasons. The fact that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be attending the summit in itself is significant. This is the first time Tehran is attending a Gulf summit.
Iran is currently in the midst of a running feud with the West over its nuclear programme.
The official Iranian version is that the trip is aimed at “boosting ties between Iran and the regional nations, especially in the Gulf area. The participation of the President shows that the will of both sides to consolidate co-operation is greater,” an official has said.
The summit is expected to discuss civilian use of nuclear energy, it is learnt.
The Gulf leaders are aware of the fact that any military action against Iran by the West could easily affect the entire region.
Hence, “Gulf security” is sure to be on top of the agenda.
“The summit is important given the regional situation, chiefly the continuing deterioration of the situation in Iraq and the escalation (of tension) between Iran and the West over its nuclear programme,” the GCC Secretary-General Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Attiyah had been quoted as saying.
The summit meeting is also expected to discuss economic co-operation, mainly the planned launch of a GCC common market early next year.
The rapidly declining value of the dollar and its impact on the Gulf currencies is likely figure prominently in the discussions. Currencies of all the Gulf countries, except that of Kuwait, are pegged to the US dollar.
In May, Kuwait pegged its dinar to a basket of international currencies in a bid to cut inflation after more than four years of being linked to the dollar like the other five GCC states.
The foreign ministers from Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s will hold a preparatory meeting today.
Apart from Iraq, Iran and other regional issues, the ministers will prepare files on economic co-operation. They will also examine obstacles hampering implementation of the customs union launched in January 2003 and examine recommendations of finance and economy ministers on a timetable for a planned monetary union.
The GCC is expected to reassess the economic situation and set a new deadline for the monetary union which was planned for 2010.
The single currency plan has hit technical, legislative and fiscal hurdles. Oman has already announced that the sultanate would not join the scheme.
Any move to revalue local currencies will be closely watched and welcomed by the millions of expatriates whose effective incomes have seen a substantial decline because of the falling value of the greenback.
The dependence on foreign manpower by the Gulf states is also likely to figure in the deliberations. The GCC labour ministers have already approved 11 recommendations to be discussed at the Doha summit. The primary focus of the recommendations is the recruitment of indigenous GCC manpower along with slowly decreasing dependence on foreign labour. The meeting would also discuss a Bahraini proposal to limit the stay of certain sections of expatriates to a maximum of six years.
One proposal is to “raise the cost of importing foreign labour to such an extent that it would no longer be feasible to import it,” sources said.
According to one estimate, some 10mn foreigners live and work in the six GCC countries. They remit to their home countries an estimated $30bn annually.
The issue has become important because of the rising unemployment of Gulf nationals.
The summit is also expected to discuss the easy mobility of Gulf nationals within the region.
Financial ministers of the six countries are scheduled to arrive this morning for their meeting, due to start at noon at Sheraton.
The foreign ministers are expected to arrive by the afternoon. They will also have their own meeting today.
A joint meeting of the ministerial committee and the GCC financial and economic co-operation committee is to be held this afternoon.
A brief session of the heads of state and the GCC secretary general is scheduled for 7pm to 8pm, ahead of the formal opening of the summit tomorrow.
Meanwhile, security forces have taken over the official venue of the summit. Security personnel from each country have personally inspected the arrangements for their respective heads of state. The entire property has been sanitised. So much so that even the hotel’s general manager, who is a resident of the hotel, has been moved out. The same was the case for other long-time residents of the hotel.
This is sixth time Doha playing host to the summit of the GCC, the charter of which was signed on May 25, 1981 in Abu Dhabi. The previous summits in Doha were held in 1983, 1990, 1996 and 2002.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=187943&version=1&template_id=57&parent_id=56
3 comments:
First time Iran is attending......hmm.
Don't look for this to benefit the US as these Leaders know he's a weak drunk idiot and are most likely making jokes about him and Connie Rice. The US will suffer until Bush/Cheney are out of office. Pray that the US didn't get involved in Chavez's election if the US has we will not no oil. OPEC will not produce more so look for Americans to suffer during the winter months.
Leaving out the U.S. is a good thing--Shug's presence could only make things worse.
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