Gulf Arab leaders gathered in Bahrain on Monday to coordinate policies amid calls by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for them to open their economies and lure more foreign investment.
Officials said there was no agenda for the "consultative" summit of leaders of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to Reuters.
But they expected the one-day meeting to be dominated by the bloody seven-month Palestinian uprising against Israel and steps needed to unify the six members' economies.
"There will be no agenda or official opening of the summit. There will also be no statement issued after the meeting," one official told Reuters.
GCC Secretary-General Jameel Al Hujailan said the leaders were free to exchange views on any regional or international issue.
According to the Gulf News, the main focus of the GCC summit will be “the occupation of UAE's three islands, Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Moussa, by Iran.”
Bahrain Information Minister Nabeel Al Hamer was quoted by the paper as confirming that "it is a working summit with no specific agenda, though it is considered as an opportunity to study a number of issues and resolutions adopted by the last GCC summit in Bahrain."
Monday’s meeting will also study a number of issues to be discussed during the next summit due to be held in Oman. He said usually there was no final communiqué for the GCC consultative summit and no ministerial meeting. But there may be a press conference by the Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa to shed some light on the summit.
Regarding the GCC stand on Iraq, he said its position remained unchanged. He also praised Kuwait's stance at the last Arab summit in Amman, where it displayed flexibility and cooperation, winning the respect not only of the GCC states but all the Arab countries.
He affirmed the GCC stand on easing the embargo on Iraq to reduce the suffering of the people, while stating that it must comply with UN resolutions.
Commenting on the Bahrain-Qatar territorial dispute, Nabeel said the GCC countries were happy that the issue was resolved peacefully and stressed that this would enhance cooperation and coordination between the two countries.
It is the third consultative meeting for the GCC leaders since they agreed to hold a biannual summit in 1999 – Albawaba.com
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