Manama: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are keen on peace and cooperation with all, but some issues can be solved only through decisiveness, Bahrain’s prime minister has said.
“We stress that the GCC countries support peace and stand up for cooperation and compassion with all,” Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa said. “However, there are matters that can be addressed only through resolve and there are interferences and schemes that can be stopped only through decisiveness,” the prime minister said as he received senior state officials and citizens.
The GCC, established in 1981, comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Prince Khalifa, known for his strong support for close pan-Gulf and inter-Arab ties and collaboration, said that the latest regional and international developments required a new global cooperation from a different perspective where shared interests, and not individual benefits, should be the driving engine of interstate relations.
“The GCC has made great steps forward in boosting cooperation and the most recent developments have shown the council’s ability to lead the Arab re-awakening that preserves the interests of the Arab nation, consolidates its structure and reinforces its entity,” he said.
Prince Khalifa said that Arabs should not be preoccupied with issues that fuel divisions and aggravate discord.
“The events unfolding in the region require awakening and caution in order to ensure that the scope of instability does not become wider and difficult to control,” he said.
“We must as a nation come together and congregate so that we do not allow any room for the enemies of the Arabs to take advantage of our divisions and disagreements to achieve their goals. We have had enough of the wars and conflicts that have pained the region and impacted its development and affected its people,” he said.
Referring to the situation in Bahrain, Prince Khalifa said that the strong social bonds between the various communities of the society have strengthened the one-family spirit in the kingdom.
The prime minister called for instilling and disseminating the values of close contacts within the society, stressing that the special bonds were the most robust barrier against attempts to cause divisions and discord.
