International   

Iran to attend GCC summit for the first time

DUBAI: For the first time Iran is attending a summit of the six Arab countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Iran’s Fars News Agency has reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will leave for Doha, Qatar on Monday to participate in the summit. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman are members of the GCC. Iran’s participation acquires considerable significance as all the six GCC countries are known U.S. allies, while Washington is working towards Tehran’s political and economic isolation.

According to the Kuwait News Agency, Mr. Ahmadinejad is expected to present his country’s stance on its nuclear programme during the opening session of the summit. He is also likely to propose a new collective security arrangement for the countries of the region.

Analysts point out that, if required, the Americans can be expected to impose enormous pressure on its GCC allies to prevent them from considering a collective security agreement with Iran. “The summit is important given the regional situation, chiefly the continuing deterioration of the situation in Iraq and the escalation [of tension] between Iran and the West over its nuclear programme,” GCC Secretary-General Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Attiyah was quoted as saying.

Other issues expected to come up for discussions is the pegging of the currencies of most GCC countries with the U.S. dollar. Besides, questions about expatriate manpower for sustaining the region’s economic boom are also on the agenda of talks.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

U.K. teacher wants to stay on in Sudan
Hundreds of Tamils detained, says report
Iran to attend GCC summit for the first time
World leaders to discuss steps to save planet
Pope calls for dialogue

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu