Category Archives: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

Gulf in the News – November 19, 2012

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Bahrain health centre in Gaza takes key role

Source: Gulf Daily News (Read full story)

His Majesty King Hamad has issued directives to prepare the Bahrain health centre in Khan Younis to provide medical care for civilians wounded in Gaza. He tasked Royal Charity Organisation (RCO) chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa to implement the instructions and be assured of the safety of affiliates of the Bahrain School in Tal Al Hawa district. Following the royal directives, RCO Secretary-General Dr Mustafa Al Sayed met representative of the UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Ford and was assured on the readiness of the Bahrain health centre in Khan Younis to receive and treat those injured as a result of the brutal Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

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Gulf in the News – November 16, 2012

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Qatar: Israel must be punished for aggression

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

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Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani warned that Israel’s deadly raids on the Gaza Strip must not go unpunished, state news agency QNA reported yesterday.
“This vicious attack must not pass unpunished,” QNA quoted the premier as saying at a meeting of GCC nations and Russia.
“The UN Security Council must take up its responsibility to secure peace and security in the world,” he said, adding the latest escalation of violence in Gaza is likely to “promote extremism.”
“We reject extremism and terrorism but such irresponsible and unjustified attacks must be condemned by the world,” he said.

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Joint Communique from the 2nd U.S.-GCC Strategic Cooperation Forum

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Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Secretary General of the GCC, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met today in New York for the second ministerial meeting of the U.S.-GCC Strategic Cooperation Forum. The Forum was launched in March 2012 to deepen strategic cooperation and coordination of policies to advance shared political, military, security, and economic interests in the Gulf region, foster enhanced stability and security throughout the Middle East, and strengthen the close ties between the GCC and the United States

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The officials agreed that the September 27 Friends of Yemen Ministerial reflected their governments’ strong support for President Hadi and Yemen’s political transition, and called on the international community to take immediate action to support Yemen’s economic development and help it address pressing humanitarian needs. The officials urged Yemen to move quickly to begin the National Dialogue, a fundamental first step to other transition benchmarks that must follow in fully implementing the GCC initiative, and noted recent progress on some areas, including steps toward military reorganization and the appointment of a broadly representative and inclusive committee to support the National Dialogue.

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US and GCC Sign Framework Agreement for Trade and Economic Cooperation

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United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk today announced that the United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) signed a Framework Agreement for Trade, Economic, Investment and Technical Cooperation. The Agreement will establish a Joint Committee to discuss areas where both the GCC and the United States share mutual interests, including considering opportunities for enhancing economic, commercial, investment and technical cooperation, fostering their economic relations and increasing the volume of trade and investment between them.

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The GCC region collectively was the sixth largest supplier of imports to the United States in 2011 with U.S. goods imports from the region totaling nearly $62 billion. Leading U.S. imports from the GCC include oil, aluminum, fertilizers, and organic chemicals. U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in GCC countries was $23.5 billion in 2010.

Press Release from The Office of the United States Trade Representative

“A Window onto the Gulf Cooperation Council” – Remarks by His Excellency Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al Zayani

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“A Window onto the Gulf Cooperation Council,
Together With a View Regarding Its
Involvement Of Late With Yemen”

Remarks by

His Excellency Dr. Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al Zayani,
Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council

to the

Gulf Research Center’s Third Annual Gulf Research Meeting,
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

July 11, 2012

Introduction by Dr. John Duke Anthony,
Founding President and CEO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations

 

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations is privileged to publish the remarks made earlier today by H.E. Dr. Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al Zayani, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, who has granted his permission.   The occasion is the three-day Third Annual Gulf Research Meeting (GRM) presented by the Gulf Research Center (GRC) with offices in Jeddah, Geneva, and Cambridge, UK.   Founded by Dr. Abdalaziz Sager less than two decades ago, with the overriding strategic maxim of “Knowledge for All,” the GRC has rapidly become a leading institute specializing in research, education, seminars, workshops, publications, and consultancy.

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U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Report Identifies Security Challenges in the Persian Gulf

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On June 29, 2012, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee released a report entitled “Gulf Security Architecture: Partnership with the Gulf Cooperation Council.” The full report can be downloaded here (.pdf) and below is a link to a summary of its key conclusions.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Report Identifies Security Challenges in the Persian Gulf

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Washington, DC – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) today released a staff report examining the evolving security framework in the Persian Gulf. The report, “The Gulf Security Architecture: Partnership with the Gulf Cooperation Council,” identifies challenges and opportunities associated with promoting U.S. interests and a stable security environment in the Gulf region. Home to more than half of the world’s oil reserves and over a third of its natural gas, the stability of the Gulf is critical to the global economy. A confluence of events in the Middle East – the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, the Arab Revolutions, and the ongoing concerns over Iran’s nuclear program – have raised questions about the Gulf region and U.S. relations with the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

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John Duke Anthony Speaks With KSA2

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Dr. John Duke Anthony spoke to KSA2 (Saudi Arabian, English-language TV) on June 14, 2012 about the 31st anniversary and growing international importance of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The GCC is comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Dr. Anthony is the only American to have been invited to each of the GCC’s Ministerial and Heads of State Summits since the GCC’s inception in 1981.