Manama: Kuwait has reiterated its support to the nomination of Mohammad Al Mutawa as the next secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Hosting a reception in honour of the Bahraini nominee, Kuwait's ambassador in Manama Shaikh Azzam Al Mubarak Al Sabah insisted on a strong and unified GCC, saying that that cohesion between the countries of the Gulf would help them understand the complex and rapid changes affecting the world.
"The consolidation of the Gulf Cooperation Council in fact reinforces joint Arab work. The Council plays a very crucial role in bringing together the Gulf states as well as Arab states," Shaikh Azzam said at the gathering attended by Arab and Gulf ambassadors accredited in Bahrain.
The name of the GCC secretary general who will succeed incumbent Abdul Rahman Al Atiyyah, a Qatari national, was a bone of contention at the GCC summit in Kuwait last month after Qatar refused to support the Bahraini nominee.
The six countries of the alliance agreed that Bahrain would take up the position in March 2011, but Qatar wanted a different nominee.
Doha did not explain its stance, but speculation is rife that it opposes Al Mutawa for his positions as information minister during the Bahrain-Qatar standoff over the Hawar Islands.
Both countries made strong claims to the islands, and the issue which dominated their relations for more than 60 years, was finally resolved by the International Court of Justice which awarded Hawar to Bahrain on March 16, 2001.
Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar had publicly endorsed Al Mutawa's nomination before the GCC summit.
Manama insists that it will keep Al Mutawa, currently the cultural advisor to Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, as its nominee for the alphabetically rotating position.
