Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has deputized Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, to lead the Kingdom's delegation to the Camp David summit scheduled for May 13-14. Prince Muhammad left Riyadh for Washington on Monday. — SPA
Nocolla Hewitt Saudi Gazette
Washington DC — President Barack Obama will reassure his Gulf allies that the United States will guarantee greater stability in the region and continue to support the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in a powerful way during the summit scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
While President Obama has said little publicly about these two days of meetings, US Secretary of State John Kerry is on record saying, “We want to produce better assurances to the GCC about the road ahead. We want to build architecture to create a response if threats arise. We want the entire region to be safer and more secure and more prosperous.”
Senior aides at the White House have said that they expect a renewed US push to help Gulf allies in the region to create a region-wide defense system to guard against Iranian missiles.
Other issues that are likely to come up are arms sales, more joint military exercises, and whether or not Washington will stand firm on its decision to withhold sales of Lockheed's new F-35 fighter jet which had been promised to Israel. It's no great secret President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu have a very strained relationship, which is now damaging what was once a rock solid alliance between the United States and Israel.
Following the recent GCC meeting in Riyadh which was led by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, it emerged this is a new era for GCC, and it's relationship with the United States, one of the Kingdom's closest allies.
The GCC has consistently acted as a defender of Arab causes, defending Arab countries and regional stability both financially and militarily. Since December 2013, a joint military command underlines the potential of this organization and of an Arab Defense Force.
Supported largely by Saudi Arabia's international clout, the GCC has the experience, the depth and the international support to tackle the many challenges faced by the region.
However, one regional Ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al-Otabia, has already expressed the hope the United States will put various guarantees in writing, and that won't just be about weaponry, but about containment too.
For President Obama, the stakes for success of these two days of meeting are high.
