Oman supports bid for GCC unity

KUWAIT CITY: The annual summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, originally scheduled for two days, has ended hours after its start in Kuwait. Emir of Kuwait Sabah al Ahmed al Sabah announced the end of the meeting in a televised statement. Addressing the opening session, Al Sabah called for the creation of a “specific” dispute-resolving mechanism in the six-nation grouping. He pledged that his country will continue its efforts to resolve the dispute between Qatar and the Saudi-led alliance, one of the most serious since the GCC was created in 1981. Kuwait has been acting as a mediator in an attempt to defuse the crisis since it erupted in June, but there has been no breakthrough so far. “We have been overwhelmed over the past six months by painful elements and negative developments. We will continue this role in handling the latest disagreement,” Al Sabah said. Qatar’s Emir said on Tuesday he hoped a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Kuwait would help maintain stability in the region. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain sent ministers or deputy prime ministers instead to the annual event. Earlier, the UAE said it would set up a bilateral cooperation committee with Saudi Arabia, separate from the GCC, on political, economic and military issues. Ahead of the summit, HH Sayyid Fahd said: “It is a great honour to me to lead the Sultanate’s delegation, on behalf of His Majesty, at the 38th GCC Summit in Kuwait and to convey the greetings of His Majesty along with his wishes of a successful and fruitful summit to his brethren leaders of the GCC states and their representatives. Oman proudly expresses its appreciation to Kuwait and its wise leadership for the kind efforts being exerted to coordinate attitudes and narrow down differences between the region’s countries towards a unified vision capable of dealing with all developments. Such good offices by Kuwait are being met with support from the Sultanate in order to enhance security and stability in the region and to achieve the aspirations of the peoples of the GCC countries of a better future. We pray to Almighty Allah to bestow bounties on the brotherly Kuwaiti people and all the peoples of the GCC countries further progress and prosperity.” HH Sayyid Fahd is accompanied by Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdallah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications, Dr Abdullah bin Mohammed al Saeedi, Minister of Legal Affairs, HH Sayyid Kamil bin Fahd bin Mahmood al Said, Assistant Secretary-General for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Cabinet Affairs, Dr Adnan bin Ahmed al Ansari, Sultanate’s Ambassador to Kuwait, Abdullah bin Khalfan al Balushi, Head of the Special Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Cabinet Affairs, Dr Mohammed bin Awad al Hassan, Acting Under-Secretary of the Foreign Ministry for Diplomatic Affairs and Mohammed bin Nasser Al Wahaibi, Head of GCC Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. — Agencies