4 - 10 January 2001
Issue No.515
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 4 - 10 January 2001 Issue No.515 |
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More flowers than power
In the days leading up to the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) annual two-day summit, Manama, the capital of tiny Gulf nation of Bahrain which hosted the event, was rife with a flurry of activity to beautify the city. One million flowers were planted along the route from its international airport to the five-star hotel where the summit took place, roads were widened and flags of the six GCC countries were hung throughout the city.
Bahrain's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa (centre), host of the GCC summit, during the opening session of the conference
(photo Reuters)
The outcome of the summit, however, proved much less impressive than the cosmetic preparations.
Since the last GCC meeting in Riyadh, many changes have rocked the regional and international scenes. The Al-Aqsa Intifada, the growing international support for easing sanctions on Iraq and the election of a new US president were just some of the events that were expected to add some dynamism to the usually calm GCC meetings. However, the final communiqué contained little that was new or unexpected.
The GCC leaders signed for the first time a joint defense pact, agreed to speed up steps towards economic integration, declared their support for the Palestinian uprising, renewed calls for Iraq to apply all Security Council resolutions passed after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait and denounced Iran's continued occupation of three Arab Gulf islands that belong to the United Arab Emirates.
Established in 1981, the Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, has the appearance of institutionalising the interaction among a homogenous bloc. But each summit has revealed more differences than the last and these are becoming increasingly difficult to contain.
Whether on the Middle East peace process, Iraq or Iran the GCC countries do not always seem to speak in one voice. Saudi Arabia, the GCC's heavyweight, has repeatedly tried to use its influence to maintain a minimum level of coordination among the oil-rich states. Yet, even with all its might, this has proved to be a difficult task.
Although the signing of the first joint defence pact among GCC members appears to be a major achievement, observers suggested that some member states are more committed to the agreement than others. They also say that its implementation ultimately depends on the regional and international climate and in practice, the area will continue to rely on the United States for its defence.
Moreover, as one Gulf expert pointed out, a joint defence pact necessitates political consensus, and this is by no means ensured. The lack of political consensus "poses a real threat to the whole agreement as military cooperation is an extension of foreign policy. Thus, it is clear that if regional unanimity is not ensured, military cooperation will never materialise," said the expert.
Officially, all GCC countries denounce Iraq and hold it responsible for the rift among Arab countries that emerged following the invasion of Kuwait. But this unity has eroded in recent years. Currently all GCC members, except for Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, maintain an open channel of communication with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates have even reopened their embassies in Baghdad.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have traditionally opposed any moves towards reconsidering their position on Iraq as long as President Saddam Hussein remains in power. They have remained steadfast in spite of the views of other countries, including non-Gulf Arab states, that the 10-year-long UN sanctions cannot go on forever, especially given that they are harming the Iraqi people -- not their government. But with more and more civilian airplanes landing in Baghdad's airport in defiance of the UN air embargo, Riyadh and Kuwait were apparently left with no option but to ease up.
During the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit held in Qatar in November, Kuwait agreed for the first time to change the title of the OIC's resolution on Iraq from the "Iraqi aggression on Kuwait," to the "situation between Iraq and Kuwait." The GCC leaders adopted the same wording in Manama, and called upon Baghdad to implement the Security Council resolutions.
Despite their strong verbal support for the UAE in its territorial dispute with Iran, GCC countries have never had a unified approach for dealing with their non-Arab neighbour. Iran had rejected a mediation bid by a GCC tripartite committee to resolve the dispute peacefully. The committee, which was established in 1998, and made up of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, failed in its mission. The Iranian government refused to receive this committee in Tehran, leading the GCC leaders in their summit in Bahrain to declare this effort over.
The UAE, meanwhile, made no secret that it was unhappy with the level of support it was getting from its Gulf brethren, particularly since the territorial dispute did not prevent Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar from developing relations with Tehran, a trend that has accelerated since President Mohamed Khatami took office three years ago.
Before the opening of the summit, many observers expected that political differences among the GCC countries would mean that the Gulf leaders would concentrate on strengthening economic integration. While the Manama summit did see some steps forward in this direction, they were typically tentative.
Thus, the GCC leaders discussed ways to implement a unified tariffs schedule. Following reports that the unified system might go into effect by 2003, the Gulf leaders announced their intention to maintain the original 2005 deadline.
An ambitious project aimed at unifying the currency among Gulf countries also saw little progress. The GCC has only agreed that the currency should be pegged to the US dollar. "This is the first step which will be followed by others. Unifying the currency is not an easy issue," Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa said.
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