Nuclear race in region under scrutiny

Riyadh: A list of varied issues ranging from fostering policies to tackling the nuclear race in the Middle East and creating a unified currency in the Gulf is being discussed at the 27th GCC Summit in Riyadh.

The two-day meeting, concluding today at Al Diriyah Palace, is part of the GCC's efforts to unify their stances regarding issues pertaining to the region. "The political standoff in Lebanon and the sectarian violence in Iraq in addition to the situation in Palestine and the international embargo against Hamas are among the issues to be discussed at the summit," said Abdul Rahman Bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Secretary-General of the GCC.

The Thursday shootout in Jeddah, in which two police guards at Al Ruwais Prison were killed, has cast a shadow on the summit. "Terrorism has been a permanent topic on the GCC summit's agenda since 1996 following the Khobar tower attack in which 19 US servicemen were killed. In spite of the successes achieved by the GCC in fighting terrorism on their territories, the issue still poses a threat to regional stability," a source said."The discussion will try to build on successes including the need to dry out sources of recruitment of new terrorists from the region," he said.

Al Attiyah said recent developments in the nuclear standoff between Iran and the US and the unrest in Iraq and Lebanon in addition to the lack of progress on an Arab-Israeli peace plan are becoming genuine threats to stability in the region. He said the six members of the GCC have unified stances towards most issues of concern and are willing to formulate clear policies to help resolve them.