Royal Institute for Traditional Arts launches training on Al-Qatt Al-Asiri art    Nearly 2 million worshippers prayed in Rawdah at Prophet's Mosque during Hajj 1446    Saudi Arabia expands tech talent schools to five regions for 2025    Aubameyang exits Al Qadsiah as club turns to youth with Retegui signing    France withdraws troops from Senegal, ending military presence in West Africa    Germany's Merz and UK's Starmer sign 'first of its kind' defense and migration treaty    Norway leads Europe's best airports list    Syrian forces leave Sweida after ceasefire with Druze militias goes into effect    Main stage at Belgium's Tomorrowland music festival completely destroyed by fire    Sports vehicles can have now short number plates    Saudi Arabia draw Iraq and Indonesia in 2026 World Cup Asian play-off group    Saudi conjoined twins Yara and Lara successfully separated in 12.5-hour surgery    Babies made using three people's DNA are born free of hereditary disease    'Art of the Kingdom' exhibition to open in Beijing's National Museum on July 30    Saudi minister holds strategic AI and tech talks with French institutions in Paris    ASICS and Saudi Sports for All launch startup pitch to boost sports innovation in Saudi Arabia    Youth-led Saudi businesses exceed 474K    Scientists recover proteins from a 24 million-year-old rhino fossil    Jorge Jesus returns to Saudi Arabia as Al Nassr head coach on one-year deal    Jannik Sinner beats Carlos Alcaraz to win his maiden Wimbledon title    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



GCC to further discuss union proposal
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 15 - 05 - 2012

Bahraini affairsTrust fading fast in Annan's Syria plan By Maher Abbas
Saudi Gazette
RIYADH – Leaders agreed Monday to allow more time for further discussions over a proposal to turn the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council into a union, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said after a GCC leaders' summit here.
“Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have approved the call for a commission to continue studying in order to present final results (to a coming summit),” Prince Saud told a joint press conference with GCC Secretary General Dr. Abdullatif Al-Zayani.
“The issue will take time... The aim is for all countries to join, not just two or three.”
“We're in full cooperation with all Gulf states to come up with the union.”
“I'm hoping that the six countries will unite in the next meeting,” Prince Saud said.
The Saudi minister also said no steps would be taken on a closer relationship between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
“There was no step to have a special relationship between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, although both countries would welcome closer association,” he said.
Prince Saud said that Iran should keep out of the Kingdom's relations with Bahrain, even if the two states decide to form a union.
“Iran has nothing to do with what happens between the two countries, even if it develops into a unity,” he told reporters.
He said that Gulf leaders had agreed to sign an agreement struck by interior ministers on closer security cooperation and that ministers would work “day and night” in economic, political, security and military committees set up since a summit last December to prepare the ground for union.
King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, called on the GCC to move “to the stage of unity in a single entity” at a summit last year. That meeting set up a committee to study the proposal.
The union calls for economic, political and military coordination and a new decision-making body based in Riyadh, replacing the current GCC Secretariat.
The Saudi foreign minister warned that confidence in international envoy Kofi Annan's peace efforts in Syria was fading fast because of the relentless bloodshed in Syria.
“Confidence in the efforts of the international envoy is falling rapidly because fighting and bloodshed continue,” Prince Saud said.
Fighting in Syria killed at least 32 people Monday, activists said.
The latest bloodshed centred in Rastan, where opposition sources said rebels killed 23 members of Assad's security forces in fighting while heavy government shelling of the town killed nine people - further unravelling an April 12 ceasefire deal that is being overseen by international monitors.


Clic here to read the story from its source.