Manama: The 35th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit opens on Tuesday in the Qatari capital Doha amid expectations it will consolidate an agreement reached last month by the six member states to move past divergences and iron out differences.
The GCC, founded in May 1981 and comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, holds its summit annually in one of the capitals based on a rotating basis.
The summit in Doha weeks ago looked in doubt after Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE charged that Qatar was failing to comply with the GCC principles and views regarding several issues, mainly the stance towards the Muslim Brotherhood, both in the Gulf and in Egypt. The three countries pulled out their ambassadors on March 5.
However, a strong mediation by Kuwait’s Emir eventually led to a compromise and an agreement was endorsed by the GCC countries to start a new chapter in their relations.
The summit in Doha on December 9 and 10 is expected to cement the agreement and signal that the diplomatic row that marred relations is well over.
The summit will be preceded by a meeting of the foreign ministers in the early afternoon. The opening session will start at 6pm and will include two short speeches by a Qatari young man and a young woman.
Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar’s Emir, will deliver a welcome speech to be followed by a speech by Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait, the chair of the rotating presidency.
GCC Secretary-General Abdul Lateef Al Zayani will then deliver a speech before Shaikh Sabah is given a special honour for his role in the GCC. Shaikh Sabah will then deliver a short speech before the session is ended.
According to the programme, the GCC leaders will hold their first session behind closed doors at 6.30pm.
A second closed-door session is scheduled for Wednesday at 11am, to be followed by an open session during which the final communiqué will be read out.
A press conference by Al Zayani and Qatar’s Foreign Minister Khalid Al Atiyyah will follow.
