GCC members moving from cooperation to integration

Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)

Gulf Cooperation Council parliament and Shura council chiefs have come up with a number of joint recommendations at the end of a meeting in Kuwait yesterday. They decided that Kuwait will host a conference of the committee of parliament chiefs on GCC economic integration in 2014, while Kuwait’s National Assembly will also be responsible for organizing a trip involving the regional group to the US Congress. Gratitude was expressed for a report by Bahrain’s Council of Representatives on geopolitical blocs that are more developed than the GCC, like the European Union and a study on foreign media policies of the region’s parliaments. Other internal issues for the meeting were also adopted like a project for a joint website and a committee tasked with placing a set of laws for the meeting.

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GCC states fear N-deal will boost Iran’s regional desires

Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)

Sunni-ruled Gulf monarchies feel let down by their US ally and want good relations with their Shia neighbour Iran but also fear the Geneva nuclear deal will boost its regional ambitions, analysts say. Saudi Arabia and the oil- and gas-rich nations of the Gulf were weighing their reactions yesterday hours after the agreement was signed between Iran and Western powers. Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in the breakthrough interim deal that world powers claimed was the biggest step in decade-long efforts to deny Iran an atomic bomb. But Gulf states have never made a secret of their concerns about Iranian regional ambitions. “In principle, the Gulf states want good relations with Iran,” Saudi analyst Jamal Khashoggi said.

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Forces mobilized as mortars from Iraq land at KSA border

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

The government has mobilized its security forces after six mortar bombs landed near a remote Saudi border post close to neighboring Iraq and Kuwait on Wednesday. Nobody was hurt in the bombardment.
The mortar rounds hit a desert area on the far northwestern fringes of the Kingdom’s oil-producing region and several hundred kilometers from the major fields operated by the world’s largest oil exporter.
There was no word on who was behind the barrage, which occurred two days after twin suicide bombings killed 25 people near Iran’s Embassy in Beirut. Saudi Arabia has condemned the Beirut bombings.
Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, Interior Ministry spokesman, said Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were investigating the mortar fire. Baghdad said it was not involved.

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World powers, Iran in new bid for deal

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

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Policymakers from the [P5+1] have since said that an interim accord on confidence-building steps could finally be within reach, despite warnings from diplomats that differences remain and could still prevent an agreement.  British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the remaining differences are narrow and a historic deal is within reach.  “It is the best chance for a long time to make progress on one of the gravest problems in foreign policy,” Hague told a news conference during a visit to Istanbul. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier: “We hope the efforts that are being made will be crowned with success at the meeting that opens today in Geneva.”

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Issues between Iraq, Kuwait solved by commitment – Iraqi FM

Source: Kuwait News Agency (Read full story)

All of Iraq’s outstanding issues with Kuwait have been resolved as result of the commitment[s] of both and it will carry out all of its commitments in 2015, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Monday. … These commitments include POWs, missing individuals, compensations or borders, he added.  Through joint committees, both sides reached MoUs and agreements that have been presented to the United Nations due to Iraq’s commitment to international legitimacy, he said.  An agreement to jointly administer Khor Abdullah waterway has been signed, and this is an important achievement, along with the demarcation of land borders, while Iraq’s exit out of Chapter VII of the UN Charter and the shift of the humanitarian issue (POWs, missing individuals and archives) from Chapter VII to Chapter VI are two of the most important steps in cooperation.

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EU-GCC automotive conference focuses on technology transfer

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

The EU-GCC Invest Project held its first automotive conference attended by some 100 local industry leaders and decision-makers at the capital’s Al-Khozama Hotel on Sunday.  “We hope that the local automotive industry benefits from this conference. European Union (EU) companies have a worldwide reputation as technology providers,” Andreas Hergenroether, AHK Saudi Arabia delegate, said as he welcomed the participants. AHK Saudi Arabia organized the conference … Hergenroether added that despite the decrease in foreign direct investments (FDI) to the GCC, Saudi Arabia is still the biggest recipient of FDIs in the MENA region in 2012 according to the 2013 World Investment Report by UNCTAD.  “This underlines Saudi Arabia as a global investment destination and testifies to the foreign companies’ trust in the economic growth and stability of the Kingdom,” he said.  He noted that the main EU investors in the Kingdom were France with an FDI volume of $3.821 billion, followed by Germany $2,138 billion and the UK $1,575 billion.

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