Kuwait PM: Kuwait declaration milestone in GCC march

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah cheered "Kuwait Declaration" of the 34th GCC Summit as a milestone in the long march of the Gulf Cooperation Council. "The Kuwait Declaration as well as the resolutions and recommendations approved by the 34th Summit of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council came to complete the several achievements of the long march of the GCC in the political, economic, developmental, cultural, educational, security and military domains," the Foreign Minister said in joint press conference with the GCC Secretary General Abdulateef Al-Zayani following the conclusion of the 34th GCC Summit. The Foreign Minister went on to say that the declaration and the resolutions are meant "to meet the great aspirations for security, stability, progress and prosperity of the GCC member states and their people." The Kuwait Declaration of the Gulf leaders underlined importance of continuing all efforts to achieving economic integration, including the removal of all obstacles facing the creation of the common Gulf market and the custom union in order to boost trade exchange. It pushed for exerting more efforts to complete all requirements to set up the monetary union with the objective to reaching the single Gulf currency, in compliance with the Economic Agreement. The Declaration also called for speeding up the integrating infrastructure projects of railway, electricity and water linkage, as well as preservation of environment. It expressed unlimited support for all efforts aimed at investing the energy of youth to expanding cooperation among the youth in the Gulf countries. It assigned the GCC Secretariat to communicate with the public opinion and people in the Gulf countries to closely get acquainted with their views and proposals aimed at cementing the common action. Meanwhile, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled lauded the high spirit and enthusiasm of the Gulf leaders, in their summit, to take all necessary action and measure to beef up joint Gulf action and to meet the aspirations of their Gulf people. "We have touched during the sessions of the Supreme Council meeting, the usual eagerness of the Gulf leaders to give priority to the joint interests and common ground over any normal difference of views," he said. The Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled underlined the importance of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah's speech at the opening session of the summit Tuesday. "We have listened at the opening of the GCC summit to the important speech of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ... and what it conveyed of the agony and concerns about the overall political situation in the region and the whole world," the Minister said. "HH the Amir has also reiterated that the Gulf unity in face of these challenges have proved to the world that the steadfastness of the Gulf people and their ability to work together with determination to uphold the security, stability and welfare of their countries." He also hailed HH the Amir calls for the world to ensure the success of the second Geneva conference for Syria peace and the international Syria donors conference which Kuwait will host next month. His Highness the Amir, addressing the 34th Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Tuesday, called for integration to honoring aspirations of the Gulf people. "We managed to prove to the whole world that the blessed march of GCC cooperation council, with all its indications, is capable of steadfastness and communication for serving the peoples of the council," His Highness the Amir said. HH the Amir also regretted UN Security Council's (UNSC) failure to solve the Syrian conflict, urging the GCC countries to double efforts to stop bloodshed in the Arab country. "The humanitarian catastrophe in Syria is still running, and this calls upon us to double our efforts, and our work with the international community, particularly the Security Council, which is, unfortunately, incapable of shouldering its historical responsibility in putting a limit to this humanitarian catastrophe," His Highness the Amir has said. The Kuwaiti government and charitable societies have rushed to help the needy Syrians, extending financial and humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of refugees in neighboring countries - Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan - as well as for internally displaced. "We in the State of Kuwait feel the agony of our brothers, and strive to heal their wounds, and provide livelihood for them," noted His Highness the Amir of Kuwait. His Highness the Amir had accepted request of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to host a donor conference over Syria last January. The conference succeeded in pledging more than the USD 1.5 billion target set by the UN. Kuwait also accepted Ban's request to host another conference. "We responded to the call of the UN Secretary General to hold the Second Conference for Supporting the Humanitarian Situation in Syria, which is scheduled to be held in the State of Kuwait in mid-January 2014," said His Highness the Amir. He called upon the GCC leaders to "actively participate, as you always did, in aiding our brothers" in Syria. The GCC is a political and economic alliance of six Gulf countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. The GCC was established in May 1981. The purpose of the GCC is to achieve unity among its members based on their common objectives and their similar political and cultural identities, which are rooted in Islamic beliefs.