Dubai: Saudi Arabia's proposal to develop ties among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries into a union has been welcomed by the six member states, which announced the formation of a committee to study the suggestion.
In the communiqué at the end of their two-day meeting in Riyadh yesterday, the GCC countries set the first quarter of next year as a deadline for the committee to present its preliminary report to the Ministerial Council before sending it to the next GCC summit scheduled to take place in Manama.
"What I heard was support for the idea," Jamal Khashougji, director of the newly-established Arab News Channel told Gulf News. "Everybody knows that such an idea takes time. It is like, you ask for the stars, and you get the moon."
Asked about reports of Kuwaiti and Omani reservations to the proposal, which was publicly welcomed by the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain, Khashougji said "three came out in support of it, but the silence of others doesn't mean they are against it".
While Oman's responses to several GCC moves and ideas, including a single currency, has been described as "conservative" in Kuwait "because of its democracy and the existence of political trends, the government can't rush and support anything [ideas] before seeking public opinion," the veteran Saudi journalist explained.
In a surprising move during his opening speech, Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz had called on GCC members to upgrade their cooperation into unity.
The communiqué reads: "The leaders have given directives to the Ministerial Council to form a specialised body by selecting three members from each country. The body will be mandated to study the proposal in light of the views exchanged by leaders. The meetings of the Board will be held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat.
"The member states shall designate their respective representatives no later than February 1, 2012. The Board will present a preliminary report in March to the Ministerial Council at its first session in 2012 in preparation for raising it to the heads of GCC states. The Board shall also submit its final recommendations to the 14th Consultative Meeting of Their Majesties and Highnesses the leaders of the Cooperation Council."
The final statement, as expected, also called on Iran to stop meddling in the internal affairs of the bloc's members.
"Stop these policies and practices ... and stop interfering in the internal affairs" of the Gulf nations, the statement said.
Analysts said the GCC summit, which is the first to be held since the Arab uprisings, reflected the "Arab Spring's flavour".
