Will 39th GCC Summit Heal Arab-Qatari Rift?

By: Nawal Sayed

CAIRO, Dec. 1 (SEE)-  Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdul Latif bin Rashid al-Zayani is reportedly going to visit Doha to invite Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to attend the next summit of the regional grouping in Dammam city in Saudi Arabia this month, Gulf media reported on Saturday.

Media outlets, citing diplomatic sources, reported that preparatory meetings for the upcoming summit will take place in Oman, where GCC foreign ministers would meet to provide a calm atmosphere to help in making the summit successful.

The report said Kuwait had worked hard to guarantee the participation of Qatar in the summit, adding that “its efforts have succeeded.”

[caption id="attachment_25309" align="aligncenter" width="851"] Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Leaders- Reuters/ File Photo[/caption]

Qatar-Arab Quartet Boycott

On June 5, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain decided to cut all diplomatic ties with Qatar, hurling allegations that the state destabilizes the region by supporting terrorism and allying with the regional foe Iran.

Kuwait led mediation efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis, and Qatar.

In November, Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah confirmed that all six GCC countries would be attending the annual summit of the council, which is expected to open on December 7.

Jarallah said the summit could offer a “hope to resolve the Gulf crisis and solve the differences.”

[caption id="attachment_25311" align="aligncenter" width="884"] Arab leaders pose for a photo during the 29th Arab League Summit in Dhahran city, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday April 14, 2018- press photo[/caption]

The Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Libya, the Malpes, Djibouti, Senegal and the Comoros later joined the camp in ending diplomatic ties with Doha. Jordan downgraded its diplomatic relations as well.

For its part, Qatar's Foreign Ministry announced that the decision to cut diplomatic ties was unjustified and based on false claims and assumptions.

Late June, 2017, Saudi Arabia and its allies released a 13-point list of demands, including the closure of Al Jazeera television network and downgrade of relations with Iran, in return for the normalization of diplomatic relations with Doha.

Qatar rejected the demands as "unreasonable."

39th GCC Summit

“The 39th GCC summit may be an opportunity to end the rift within the group,” Kuwait’s deputy foreign minister was quoted as saying by state news agency KUNA.

At last year’s GCC summit, held in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain sent ministers or deputy prime ministers, rather than heads of states.

The GCC was founded in 1981 representing a Gulf political and economic union grouping Qatar with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as Oman and Kuwait.