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Kuwait’s emir said yesterday that falling oil prices were affecting the incomes and development programmes of petroleum-producing Gulf States.
Brent crude oil fell to a 5-year low near $65 a barrel in volatile trade yesterday, sliding for a sixth consecutive session on signs of a growing supply glut.
Brent averaged around $110 between 2011 and 2013 and topped $115 in June. Losses accelerated in late November after Opec decided against reducing its output target, despite its forecasts of a surplus and calls from members including Iran and Venezuela to cut production.
“Among the challenges we face as oil-producing and exporting countries is the decline in prices to levels that have started to affect the income and development programmes of our countries,” Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah said in a speech in Qatar at the start of the annual summit of the Gulf Co-operation Council.
Sheikh Sabah suggested one of the solutions was greater economic integration within the GCC.
“We are called today to strengthen the path of our shared economic work ... emphasising the necessity of implementing all the agreed-upon important economic decisions between GCC countries to be able to confront the effects of these challenges,” he said.
QNA adds: The Kuwaiti emir, in his speech, said that the “legitimate” concerns and fears “compel us to work tirelessly to maintain our achievements amidst critical regional and international circumstances, which justified our concern.”
He thanked HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the State of Qatar and the Qatari people for the warm welcome, generous hospitality and outstanding preparation for this important meeting.
“Today’s summit is being held in Qatar a year after the 34th session which was held in Kuwait”, Sheikh Sabah said, adding: “We have lived through concern and fear on the path of our GCC’s path, which pushed us forward to work hard and achieve our goals under extremely critical regional and international conditions, which made our concerns legitimate and our fears justified. This was reflected on the progress of our joint march which faced severe challenges that were about to sweep our GCC entity, which now represents the hope and promise for the people of the GCC countries”.
“We believe that differences in points of view are normal and necessary, from which we should not panic and we should not reach the level of dispute and boycott, which will undoubtedly weaken us and undermine our ability to maintain our achievements.”
The emir of Kuwait said the fundamentals of unity that combine the six GCC countries are so strong that they outmatched the “fundamentals of boycott,” adding that dialogue would help the GCC countries to overcome “any dispute.”
He said turning the GCC into a union was the goal and hope of the GCC countries, and it is in harmony with our statute.
“We should work on creating a solid foundation to pave the way for the union, a foundation that would help us overcome our differences ,” he said.
The emir of Kuwait proposed the formation of a high-level committee consisting of experts and specialists tasked with thoroughly studying the union issue and referring their recommendations to the foreign ministers and then to the leaders.
On Syria, the emir of Kuwait regretted the international community’s failure to stop the killing and destruction, as well as displacement of millions of people in and outside the country.
On the issue of the United Arab Emirates’ Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa islands, the emir of Kuwait called on “the friendly Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to the efforts of the United Arab Emirates to resolve the issue through direct negotiations or international arbitration.”
With regard to the Palestinian cause, Sheikh Sabah pointed out that despite the strenuous efforts being made to revive the stalled Middle East peace process, the Israeli intransigence and its insistence to continue building settlements, sacrilege and repeated attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque in addition to its refusal to comply with the resolutions of international legitimacy have prevented any progress and kept the Palestinian issue unresolved.
The Kuwaiti emir said that his country has been closely following the developments in Yemen, explaining that the current situation is a result of one party’s lack of commitment to the peace and partnership agreement that has undermined the stability and hindered the implementation of the Gulf initiative.
On the Iranian nuclear programme, the emir pointed out that the negotiations are still on without reaching a final agreement to reassure the world on the nature of the programme and enable International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to have control over Iranian reactors.
Sheikh Sabah congratulated Bahrain on the success of the parliamentary and municipal elections that took place recently, and witnessed large popular participation.
He also congratulated the Qatari Football Team on winning the 22nd GCC Cup and praised Saudi Arabia for organising the tournament.
Meanwhile, the GCC Secretary General Dr Abdullatif al-Zayani has extended congratulations and appreciation to HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim in Hamad al-Thani, the chairman of the current session of Supreme Council of the GCC leaders.
In his speech before the 35th GCC summit, al-Zayani said he was confident that the presidency of Qatar, under the leadership of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, would have great impact in enhancing the GCC’s goals.
Al-Zayani also extended his thanks to the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah for his efforts during his presidency of the 34th session, which had a profound impact in promoting collaboration within the GCC.
