Gulf nations' summit opens in Saudi capital

The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) opened its annual summit meeting in Riyadh on Saturday, focusing on Palestinians, Lebanese, Iraqi and other pressing regional issues.

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz, whose country hosts the two- day summit, presided over Saturday's opening ceremony.

In his inauguration speech, King Abdullah said, "the Arab world is now facing unrest and danger", pointing out "the basic problem is still Palestinian issue."

"Palestinians are still under the enemies' occupation, but the most dangerous thing is the internal rift between the Palestinian brothers," said King Abdullah, referring to the in-fighting between the rival ruling Hamas movement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah.

Talks between Fatah and Hamas to form a new Palestinian unity government have reached a dead end amid disputes on distribution of the major cabinet portfolios.

Speaking of Iraq, King Abdullah said, "brothers in Iraq are slaughtering each other, and the country is engulfed by bloodshed and violence", warning of the division in the country.

Situation in Iraq keeps deteriorating, as no one and no plan have proven effective in curbing the violence in the war-wracked country. The Sunni-dominated Gulf nations fear Iraq will be under too much influence by the Shiite Iran.

On Wednesday, the U.S. bipartisan Iraq Study Group issued the highly-anticipated report that recommends major changes in the Bush Administration's Iraq policy, which it says is "not working."

As for Lebanon, he also voiced concern that the unity of the country is in danger.

In his speech, King Abdullah urged the GCC members to work together in solving these crises.

"We, the gulf countries must speak in the same voice. Only by cooperation among us, can we solve the problems in Palestinians, Iraq and Lebanon," he said.

In the economic aspect, he admitted, "there are obstacles in the process of economic integration", despite all the achievements the GCC has made.

In last year's summit, the GCC decided to extend the transition period of the bloc's customs union from 2005 to the end of 2007.

The alliance has so far remained committed to establishing a common market by 2007 and a single currency by 2010.

But there are lots of disputes among the member states in negotiations to reach these goals.

Analysts say the economic integration process is slow-paced and progress limited.

The summit is held in the heavily-fortified Duraiiah Palace in the suburb of the Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, while security is on high alert following a shootout on Thursday in the western city of Jeddah that killed two Saudi security guards.

The GCC, founded in 1981, is a regional political and economic alliance aimed at enhancing cooperation among its six member states,including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.

Source: Xinhua