Yemen is the geographic, strategic, humane and security background of the GCC states," President Ali Abdullah Saleh told the visiting Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al Attiyah a few days ago.
Al Attiyah, who is now well attuned to GCC leaders' perceptions of their southern neighbour, confirmed that a Yemeni membership would enhance security and stability on the Arabian Peninsula and throughout the Gulf. Kuwait, however, was not in a particularly welcoming mood. What is the reason for this reluctance?
For Shaikh Mohammad Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah, Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, the disinclination was not an expression of distrust. Rather, the nation did not want the GCC alliance to replace the League of Arab States.
"In Kuwait," declared Shaikh Mohammad, "we believe that if we open the GCC to other countries, we will end up with 22 members joining."
This is, of course, patronising. As far as it is publicly known, Somalia, Mauritania, the Comoros, nor even Tunisia or Libya (among others), expressed any desires to join the GCC. Yemen is an exception and, frankly, a good one.
There are several reasons why Sana'a should, and probably will, eventually join the GCC.
First, it is geographically complementary to all six members-states, and may be considered its powerhouse as far as its inhabitants are concerned.
Second, with an estimated 23 million citizens (not just residents), the Yemeni population clearly stands out, although that of Saudi Arabia is larger.
The latter includes an acknowledged expatriate population of 6-7 million, which must be factored in all assessments, and does not included the million or so Yemenis who were expelled after the 1991 War for Kuwait.
Elsewhere, Yemenis were naturalised, as was the case in the UAE (1970s and 1980s), after the late president Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan acknowledged kinship with key Yemeni tribes.
Third, Yemen is a recipient of GCC financial assistance, but will add even more to the alliance if it was not just a hand-me-down state that should be satisfied with periodic largesse.
A few weeks ago, GCC states pledged $2.6 billion during the most recent London donors' conference, which was duly acknowledged by President Saleh. Indeed, GCC states are willing to support Yemen, even if Kuwait has reservations about its membership.
Associated to these donations, Al Attiyah revealed that the GCC Secretariat was "planning to open an office in Sana'a for following up the steps of Yemen's merger into the GCC".
He told the Saudi Okaz newspaper that high-level negotiations on Sana'a's bid to join the organisation were under way, presumably at the Ministerial Council level, the most effective venue for such discussions.
"Setting up a programme for the integration of the Yemeni economy in that of the Gulf economies would be the real beginning to Yemen's joining the alliance," announced the Secretary-General, although one must emphasise that the country offered a large market.
Stellar performances
Because of its achievements to date, the GCC will never replace the League of Arab States, which is not known for its stellar performances. To their credit, GCC States managed to individually and collectively, keep regional peace and security (albeit with outside assistance).
This is where Sana'a can play a role. Simply stated, Yemen is, and will always remain, a security bastion for the GCC since it provides a strategic depth to member-states.
While it is true that GCC States are complimentary in their socio-political make-ups and that Yemen faces huge economic and social challenges, can GCC States afford to have a poor and envious neighbour with an immense appetite for inclusion as well as expansion?
Over the long-haul, GCC societies must lend more than a hand to Yemen, acculturate its people to the vagaries of free markets, familiarise Sana'a to modernising political systems, and, last but not least, cooperate with monarchical institutions.
The European lesson is quite illustrative in this respect, as that union grew from its six original members to today's 25-strong coalition that is a global economic powerhouse.
Even if some GCC leaders do not share an identity with Yemen and cannot fathom working together with it today, the time will come when core necessities will override narrow interests.
Yemen has been vying to join the GCC states as its seventh member for some time and the question that faces the alliance is whether such participation can be channelled to serve all member-states, or whether it will drag the region down.
Current programmes focus on tourism, sport, health and social activities, but also on critical security ties. There are, thus, areas of great commonality.
It behoves GCC leaders not to play the pauper, for a danger looms that an isolated Yemen will become far more dangerous for the alliance, than one that will keep Sana'a committed to intrinsic GCC interests.
Many understand this truism and are slowly encouraging Yemen to adapt to its northern neighbours' styles. If some are bothered by significant political differences, which cannot be denied, the GCC genius is to precisely figure out a way to tamper the Yemeni penchant for the catastrophic.
Dr Joseph A. Kechichian is a commentator and author of several books on Gulf affairs.
