The 31st annual summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council — the grouping of the six rich Gulf states — opened here at the opulent Emirates Palace Hotel on Monday with regional security concerns being voiced prominently.
The outgoing chairman, the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah, drew pointed attention in his remarks to the crushing of an assassination attempt in Saudi Arabia by a Yemen-based terrorist outfit, clearly indicating that the GCC leadership intends to follow up on anti-terrorist efforts to deal with the Al Qaeda on the Arabian peninsula.
The Kuwait leader, speaking at the end of his annual term as GCC chairman, also called on Iran to end the occupation of the three islands of the United Arab Emirates, and “close this file in order to maintain the stability and peace in the region”.
The chairman’s mantle has now passed to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zahed al Nahyan, the Abu Dhabi ruler and president of the United Arab Emirates.
Almost coinciding with the Gulf Cooperation Council summit was held here on Sunday the second Middle East Missile and Armed Defence Symposium at the Abu Dhabi Armed Forces Officers Club, attended by “military leaders and diplomats from the Gulf and abroad”, according to a prominent report in the National, the leading English language daily here.
Missiles constitute “a real threat” to the stability of Gulf Cooperation Council countries, noted Riad Kahwaji, the chief executive officer of the Institute of Near East and Gulf Military Analysis.
The hint appeared to be at Iranian missiles.
In what appears to be fears as regards the Iranian nuclear programme, participants noted that the potential threat of theatre ballistic missiles that could reach over land and sea had to be factored in as weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capability was increasing in the region.
The Integrated Missile Defence Centre along with the United States Central Command (Centcom) was now a reality, said the deputy chief of staff of the United Arab Emirates armed forces, Maj Gen. Ali Mohammed Subaih Al Ka’abi.