QNA

Doha

 

A senior Omani minister has said the decision by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to withdraw their respective ambassadors from Doha is “just a minor disagreement over issues between brothers and this will not affect the fundamental principles of GCC states”.

In an interview with Qatar’s Al-Sharq newspaper, Yousef bin Alawi, Oman’s minister responsible for foreign affairs, stressed that the GCC countries were not weak and their progress would not stop. He said the decision to withdraw envoys was just an expression of ire and discomfort due to some compelling circumstances. He pointed to the common heritage and cultural bonds of GCC citizens.

He reiterated that each state had its respective policies and visions within the framework of the GCC’s common goals. There could be a difference in their visions, but it would not affect the strong bonds between these countries.

He said there was a shared responsibility to maintain GCC’s “progressive march”.

All GCC programmes, he said, were continuing as per plans.

“The GCC was founded and built on  common ethos and integration between its people. We should further strengthen this and continue to promote common interests,” he said.

In Kuwait, officials said the diplomatic rift between Qatar and three other Gulf Arab countries had no effect on a meeting of Gulf central bank governors yesterday.

Kuwait’s central bank governor said the dispute had not marred relations between his counterparts from the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council.

“We are a technical committee and interested in technical things and we do not interfere in political issues,” Mohamed al-Hashel said after the first session of the meeting with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar and Oman.

“Everyone was here and participated effectively in the meeting,” he told reporters.

The governors sat together for breakfast and the Saudi and Qatari central bank governors walked out of the meeting together for lunch with no sign of the tension between their two countries.

Participants at the meeting discussed measures to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing as well as an agreement on debit card use in Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, Hashel said.