The agreement reached by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh on Sunday night, to end a year-long dispute, has been met with joy by the people of the six member states. According to the agreement, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE will send back their ambassadors to Qatar. The ambassadors were withdrawn in March.
The agreement, made possible by the efforts of Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and Kuwait’s Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, also paves the way for the annual summit, which will be held in Doha next month.
Today, it is a new chapter in inter-GCC relations. The dispute is a lesson for the member states that the people of the GCC are one, with strong blood ties, shared history and who aspire to a common future. No dispute shall change that fundamental factor. It is a lesson that the collective interests of the group and their people are paramount. The regional threats compel us to be united. We do not have the luxury of disagreements over such existential issues.
The Saudi leadership deserves the credit in managing to steer Sunday’s meeting towards an agreement that should lead to a united stance vis-a-vis regional and international challenges. The mediation of the Kuwaiti leadership also deserves praise for vigorously shuttling between the Gulf capitals to pave the way for Sunday’s deliberation.
The UAE, with a clear guidance from President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the efforts of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, saw beyond the dispute and was keen to get the GCC march back on the right track.
The GCC represents the hopes and aspirations of its people. And they must not be disappointed. They are looking for greater integration and common policies that will benefit them. Sunday’s meeting was an important milestone towards realising those goals.
