Top Arab leaders gather in Bahrain for GCC Summit

Arab leaders around one table at the 2011 GCC Summit in Riyadh Leaders from six Arab states will meet at the 33rd Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit, which opens in Manana on Monday afternoon. Representatives from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates , Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain will discuss a range of issues during the two-day event.
The focus will be on the pressing political, economic and security issues in the region, notably establishing the Gulf Union, the relations with Iran, the recent developments in Syria, and how to help in the reconstruction of Gaza after the recent Israeli aggression.
There will be a number of open and closed sessions regarding the international political situation. The summit will also stress on the need to evacuate the area of ??weapons of mass destruction, and the need to put international pressure on Iran and Israel in order to commit to international standards and requirements set by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
On Sunday, the foreign ministers of the six GCC countries held a private meeting in Manama, to prepare for the summit and discuss the issues on the agenda of the session. They also discussed the current political, regional and international issues and the joint work of the Gulf.
The meeting was attended by the Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, and Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal. The Saudi minister told fellow leaders that "Iran must stop its interventions in Gulf affairs and in the internal affairs of Arab countries."
The Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, said that "the recent call made by Bahrain for a conference of the Friends of the Iranian people, is not an angry reaction, but tit for tat," adding "we will not be accused of using chemical weapons."
In a statement, the GCC Secretariat General rejected the Iranian occupation of the three UAE islands, Greater and Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa. The statement called on Iran to resort to either direct negotiations or international arbitration.
There was also reiteration of the GCC’s position on the Palestinian issue, with praise for the UN General Assembly’s resolution to grant Palestine non-member observer status.
Four of the six heads of state will not attend the annual gathering. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is convalescing after a back operation in November, while Qatar is sending its crown prince, the United Arab Emirates its vice president, and Oman its deputy prime minister.
Kuwait will be represented by its emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed Al-Sabah.


Additional reporting: AFP