GCC leaders greet Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Tuesday at the end of the Riyadh summit. (SPA

Published: Dec 21, 2011 02:16 Updated: Dec 21, 2011 02:19

RIYADH: The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) concluded its two-day summit in Riyadh on Tuesday with the bloc’s leaders vowing to support the historic initiative of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to transform the GCC into a single powerful regional entity.

The proposal to transform the GCC into a union of Gulf states, which will herald a new era of Gulf cooperation amid changing regional alliances, figured prominently in the final communiqué issued by GCC heads of state.

“A special Gulf authority comprising three nominated representatives from each GCC member state will be set up to study all aspects of the strategic move that calls for forging a single regional alliance,” said GGC Secretary-General Abdullatif Al-Zayani.

Several other significant decisions were taken by the Gulf leaders including a call to Syria to stop the bloodshed in the country.

*** Referring to Morocco and Jordan, the statement said the Gulf leaders agreed to create a $5 billion fund to support the development plans of Jordan and Morocco. “The GCC has decided to create a Gulf development fund, which begins by providing support to development projects in the Kingdom of Jordan and the Kingdom of Morocco worth $2.5 billion for each,” said the statement read out by Al-Zayani.

“The GCC supreme council has assigned the finance ministers of its members to study the statute and structures needed to create the fund,” said the statement without giving any timeframe for Jordan and Morocco to become members. The statement also did not explain the type of membership to be given to the new entrants.

Spelling out details of King Abdullah’s initiative, Al-Zayani said the plan once implemented will have a “positive impact on the region and its population.”

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