day Gulf Cooperation Council summit which started yesterday in Riyadh. This summit comes at an important historical juncture when many challenges are facing the Gulf countries. It comes at a time when Arab revolutions or the so-called Arab Spring has swept many countries in the Arab world. It comes at a time when regional and international security concerns must be addressed and dealt with. The GCC leaders will review the major issues affecting the region and will examine the possibility of further strengthening the unity of their organization. Many important matters need to be discussed during the summit, the most significant of which are the Iranian issue, the GCC partnership with Morocco and Jordan and the steps to be taken to establish a unified Gulf currency. However, it is the security issue which is the most urgent and most important matter to be addressed by the GCC leaders. Security is a critical issue for all Gulf countries which have a unified identity and a similar social structure. Security challenges directly affect the future of all Gulf countries. The Riyadh summit comes amid increased awareness of the importance of achieving economic and social goals that live up to the expectations and ambitions of the GCC countries. Such objectives must be realized in a rapidly changing world which recognizes only the strong and where the weak have difficulty surviving. The summit reflects the present hopes and future aspirations of the GCC countries. It will transform them from a group of nations which have agreed to cooperate into countries which are united in every sense of the word and at all levels. Such political, economic, cultural and scientific unification will result in a stronger Gulf region. __
