Sultan Qaboos of Oman called for establishing a mechanism to stabilize oil prices in order to overcome the global financial crisis, at opening of the two-day annual summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) here Monday. “There is a need to establish a mechanism for stability in oil prices, in a way that it would not burden the consumer... and not harm the producing countries, while it allows their development plans to continue,” Qaboos said. Sultan Qaboos called for cooperation between all nations to overcome the impact of the international financial crisis, and stressed the need to balance the needs of oil producers and consumers. The call came as the GCC member states – Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – have grappled with the impact of oil prices that have fallen by about 70 percent from their mid-July highs of nearly $150 per barrel. Despite the focus on the economy, the attacks on Hamas-ruled Gaza, which have left over 300 Palestinians dead, were poised to dominate a good deal of the discussions. GCC foreign ministers, meeting Sunday ahead of the main two-day gathering, focused their attention on the Israeli airstrikes that have sparked outrage in the Arab world. GCC officials went into the meeting stressing the need to unify their stance ahead of an extraordinary Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Wednesday. GCC Secretary-General Abdulrahman Bin Hamad Al-ATtiyah said Monday the Israeli attacks will be dealt with by the summit on Tuesday. The summit communiqué Tuesday is expected to call for international efforts to contain the global financial crisis and combat piracy, as well as call upon the incoming US administration of President-elect Barack Obama to get seriously involved in the Middle East peace process. Sources said the communiqué will announce the name of the country that will host the headquarters for the Gulf Central Bank, and also the name of the unified Gulf currency. Several names were proposed including Khaleeji (meaning Gulf), Karam (generosity) and Naqd (cash). Five countries have expressed their readiness to host the headquarters. The sources said Bahrain would be chosen to host the bank's headquarters in view of its long banking history and status as an international financial center. Except for Oman, all countries are in agreement on GCC monetary union and the basic system for the monetary council. The leaders discussed accomplishment made from cooperation between the GCC and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on developing GCC capabilities for using atomic energy for peaceful purposes. The leaders also reviewed progress on a study on the railway project linking the six GCC countries. The GCC leaders are expected to approve a mechanism for implementing the decisions related to economic integration and removing all the obstacles facing the establishment of a Gulf Common Market and the Customs Union. In their meeting Monday, the GCC leaders discussed the economic inflation dossier, rise in prices and providing jobs for Gulf nationals. As regards security, the leaders discussed, among other issues, joint Gulf efforts to combat terrorism and the growing sea piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
