The crisis-hit Gulf Cooperation Council began its annual summit on Tuesday amid uncertainty over whether the leaders of Saudi Arabia and its allies would join their Qatari rival for the talks. Those three Gulf states, together with Egypt, cut all ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing the gas-rich emirate of supporting Islamist extremists and of being too close to Shiite Iran, Riyadh’s arch-rival. After cutting off all ties with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and its allies imposed a land, sea and air blockade of the emirate and issued a list of 13 demands to have it lifted. The Gulf states have approved a customs union, a common market, a single currency and a single central bank, but most of these have yet to be implemented. “The GCC is a continuous project in which the will of member states meets to build a unified Gulf body,” he said.

Source: Egypt Independent December 05, 2017 10:18 UTC