Gulf co-operation council and impending crisis

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

  • The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a political and economic alliance of six countries in the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
  • Established in 1981, the GCC promotes economic, security, cultural and social cooperation between the six states and holds a summit every year to discuss cooperation and regional affairs.
  • All current member states are monarchies, including three constitutional monarchies (Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain), two absolute monarchies (Saudi Arabia and Oman), and one federal monarchy (the United Arab Emirates).
  • The GCC comprises six main branches that carry out various tasks, from the preparation of meetings to the implementation of policies. They are- Supreme Council, Ministerial Council, Secretariat-General, Consultative Commission, Commission for the Settlement of Disputes and the Secretary-General.

Present issue between Countries in Gulf Region

  • Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-GCC member Egypt cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar in June 2017 over allegations of supporting terrorism.
  • Qatar abruptly announced it was withdrawing from the oil exporters’ group OPEC, denies the charges and says the boycott aims to curtail its sovereignty.
  • Murder of Khashoggi at Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate.
  • Yemen war, four-year-old war that has pushed the country to the brink of famine.
  • Iran’s regional activities
  • Qatar also strengthened its alliance with Turkey, which stepped in as provider of security for Doha. Turkey checkmated any plans that Saudis and Emiratis might have had to use force to bring the Qatari emir down on his knees.
  • Saudi Arabia is upset that Oman and Kuwait did not join the embargo. Kuwait is in fact trying to mediate.
  • Qatar stepped up assistance for Hamas in Gaza strip. It accelerated a plan to allow Turkey to set up military camp in the country.
Location: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

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