World Affairs
Vol. 3, Number 2 (Apr.–Jun. 1999)

Regional Cooperation in the Gulf
Interview with Jamil I. Alhejailan, Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf

 

In an exclusive interview to World Affairs, Jamil I Alhejailan, Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, discusses the common aspirations of the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States for realising regional unity in the Arab world.

World Affairs (WA): Could you briefly explain the broad framework of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)? How and in what circumstances was it established? Are there any major landmarks in its evolution since its establishment in 1981?

Jamil I Alhejailan (JIA): Establishing a Council devoted to cooperation in the Gulf represents the institutional embodiment of the ambitious aspirations of the leaders and the people of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It aims at realising regional unity in the Arab world, since there has been a long-felt need for a unifying framework. Cultural, religious, social, historical and even family relations have forged a unique correlation among the citizens of the six member states, and created harmony in identity and values among them.

In addition to the convergence and conversion factors, which are enhanced by one geographic area and which extend through the peninsula desert, the challenges to security and development during the past two decades like the two Gulf Wars, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, or the fluctuating oil prices, were further incentives to seek a cooperative formula among the six states. This search was culminated in the establishment of the GCC on May 25, 1981.

The objectives of the Council as mentioned by the Charter of the GCC are to realise coordination, integrity, and closer ties among the member states in all spheres of cooperation in order to reach total unity, strengthen ties among the people, and lay down regulations that would accelerate the scientific and technological progress in the region.

WA: The Unified Economic Agreement (UEA) clearly stipulates that the establishment of a Gulf Common Market is the goal of the GCC. What is the level of its achievement? Are the “unified Customs tariffs” and the freedom of movement of capital, of labour, etc. already operational among its six members?

JIA: The Unified Economic Agreement, which was endorsed by the Supreme Council in 1981, forms the framework and gives a road map for the joint work in the field of economy.

Since 1983, GCC states have successfully implemented the UEA. As a matter of fact, a free trade zone was created where the products of national origin are exempted from customs tariff. This early and important step was just the first stage on the track of economic integration. It had positive and tangible effects in enhancing the interim trade, and consolidating the trend towards industrialization and adopting varied production bases in the member states.

Later on a Customs Union was set up. However, it was not an easy objective, as there were six different approaches to determine an acceptable customs tariff. But as a transitional stage, minimum and maximum tariffs were established between four per cent and 20 per cent. In the Abu Dhabi Summit (December 1998), the Supreme Council endorsed a timetable to implement a Unified Customs tariff by March 2001.

Nonetheless, we in the GCC have not strictly followed the successive stages stipulated in the agreement. And indeed, before concluding the second stage, ie Customs Union, we worked to achieve a great deal of the third stage ahead of the timetable. These included the establishment of a common Gulf market which virtually requires free movement of capital and people. Moreover, economic citizenship is an important milestone in the on-going evolution of the common market.

Economic citizenship has been realised in many sectors, including the establishment of a long list of economic activities in agriculture, industry, contracts, animal products, retail trade, ownership of shares and real-estates as well as in the business and professional fields.

WA: At the political level, according to the Charter of the GCC, it has proclaimed that “coordination, integration and interconnection ... in all fields” is their goal. Specifically has there been any progress in the security and foreign policy sectors among the members? Can you give us some examples of the progress made in these sectors?

JIA: In a troubled region like the Gulf area, security and coordination of foreign policies must always require the utmost attention among the priorities established by the GCC. We believe that security of the Gulf states is identical and closely linked. Such a fact is imposed by geopolitics and collective faith in one destiny.

In the field of foreign policy, continuous and coordinated consultations are conducted on regional security and all the matters that may contribute to enhance security and stability of the region. In this context, it is worth mentioning the solid and united stand of the GCC on Iraq, on relations with Iran, including the issue of the UAE’s three occupied islands, and on the peace process in the Middle East. Moreover, we have been leading collective political and economic negotiations with the European Union (EU), USA and Japan for which we need a unified stand of the GCC.

In the security sector, we have made good progress. We have coordinated defence policies and have achieved some compatibility between the different systems. Also we are carrying out joint military training programmes for the armed forces. The Peninsula Shield is composed of troops from all the GCC states. It is also worth mentioning that in 1997, two accords were reached to set up the Cooperation Belt scheme and the telecommunications network at a cost of 155 million US dollars.

WA: Could you tell us about the broad institutional framework that has been established under the Supreme Council? Through the years are there any signs or indications that some supra national authority has been allocated to the Supreme Council?

JIA: The GCC’s highest authority is the Supreme Council. It draws up the policy guidelines and establishes the main principles for the GCC work. Next comes the Ministerial Council which is composed of the ministers of Foreign Affairs. It is considered as the executive instrument of the GCC. There is also the Commission for Settlement of Disputes which is directly attached to the Supreme Council. Moreover, in 1997 a Consultative Council was established by the Supreme Council. It is composed of 30 members, five from each country. Last is the Secretariat General of the GCC. This summing up is of course omitting many other important aspects of the organizational structure of the GCC.

WA: Under the authority of the Supreme Council a Commission for Settlement of Disputes has been established. Is this Commission operational? Has it played a role in resolving disputes among its members? Could you give us some examples?

JIA: The Commission for Settlement of Disputes is directly attached to the Supreme Council. It is a non-permanent body and is convened whenever there is a need to examine the issues of disputes arising among the member states, or to discuss the differences of opinion regarding the interpretation or implementation of the GCC Charter.

WA: What about the Secretariat General? Is it only an administrative authority or does it have more substantive functions?

JIA: The role of the Secretariat General is not limited to administrative secretarial work, though it is one of its main tasks. According to the Charter, the function of the Secretariat General is to prepare studies and reports related to cooperation, coordination and planning for the integrated programmes of the joint work. It also prepares studies and reports requested by the Supreme Council and/or the Ministerial Council, and follows-up the implementation of the resolutions, etc. Although the GCC Secretariat is not modelled after the European Commission, it is not merely an administrative unit.

WA: Have transnational non-governmental institutions and interest groups emerged in the Gulf area that are open proponents of regional cooperation? Are they acting as pressure groups to accelerate the whole process of cooperation and integration?

JIA: There was a popular demand for the establishment of the GCC. We are accustomed to listening to opinions that urge us to accelerate the process of cooperation and speed up the stages of unity. Of course, there are some sectors within the GCC states which benefit directly from the rules and resolutions of the GCC. Their economic and social interests go beyond the political boundaries of the member states. The industrialists are the leading group in the matter. They take into account the goals of the Gulf Common Market when they construct factories or expand their current business activities. There are also some other groups such as merchants, investors, and craftsman who practise their profession in all the member states. In addition, there are those intellectuals and cultivated people who believe that it is necessary to support the GCC as it is the key element for political stability and economic prosperity. All these groups could be labelled as pressure groups and they certainly provide the GCC with a desirable support.

WA: Does the GCC take any position on important matters of foreign policy? Does it have any role to perform in major issues faced by the whole of the Gulf area, and which do not fall within the mandate of the GCC?

JIA: The GCC coordinates the positions of its members in the sphere of foreign policy and regional security issues. However, nothing prevents it from raising any other issue or subject when needed. Like other regional groupings, the GCC has some priorities that are imposed by the geographical imperitives. The positions of the GCC vis-à-vis the regional and international issues are clear, and declared statements are always issued in this regard.

WA: Has the GCC established any relations with such non-members of the Gulf area as Iran and Iraq?

JIA: The GCC hopes that by adhering to international obligations Iraq would no longer have to encounter international sanctions and would begin to re-establish its relations with the international community.

After the invasion of Kuwait, the whole area was in a state of tension and chaos. We all hope to turn over this chapter of history and hence to put an end to the sufferings of the Iraqi people. We realise the damage inflicted by the sanctions on the Iraqi people, but the Iraqi regime is itself to blame for it. The only way Iraq can regain its credibility with the GCC states is by respecting its international obligations. Such steps will certainly contribute to the bolstering of security and stability in the region. Regarding GCC’s relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, we deeply realise the importance of building up such relations on sound and strong bases, the promotion of which would ensure the interests of both the sides. Indeed, there are some noticeable improvements which should be followed-up by mutual visits on various levels. GCC and Iran have wide-ranging common interests which are not linked to any political and economic factors. Oil, environment, and navigation in the waters of the Gulf are some of the other aspects that enjoin the development of neighbourly relations. Nonetheless, in our relations with Iran we still face the issue of its occupation of the three islands belonging to the UAE. Iran has not responded yet to the repeated calls of the GCC to either negotiate over this row or resort to international arbitration.

WA: It has often been argued that regional cooperation becomes problematic when one member state is disproptionately dimensional and more advanced than the others. In other words do you think Saudi Arabia—the biggest of all the members—generates a problem within the GCC?

JIA: The GCC was established on the basis of equal rights and legal obligations irrespective of the size, or the disparity in economic and human resources, of its members. Article 9 of the Charter stipulates that each member of the Supreme Council shall have one vote. Decisions on substantive matters are carried out by unanimous approval. There is, therefore, no room for any member state to exercise any domination over the others.

I would like to point out that hegemony is not important as it has never been practised before by any member state. The brotherly relations prevailing among the member states are reflected in the procedures inside the meetings. Even decisions on procedural matters are carried out by consensus with no need for voting. There is no enforcement of wills inside the GCC, and it is certainly one of the main factors for its development and survival.

WA: How would you compare the performance of the GCC with other regional organisations like the European Union (EU), Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) or South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation (SAARC)?

JIA: Every regional group has its own methodology and philosophy in achieving its goals. Such methodology and philosophy are exactly the outcome of the cultural and the historical experiences of the constituent societies. Of course, we look for inspiration from other regional groups such as the EU, ASEAN, and SAARC, in order to benefit from their varied experiences, but we always adapt these experiences to the particularity of the Gulf. We derive from the experience of others what is possible and useful to our work. However, to compare the GCC with other regional groups is irrelevant and unfair, since the Gulf experience is still new in teamwork.

WA: Has the GCC established an institutional framework under which its members meet to coordinate their policies vis-à-vis the United Nations and other world bodies?

JIA: Coordinating the policies of the GCC vis-à-vis the United Nations and other world bodies is carried out through the Ministerial Council (ministers of Foreign Affairs) or through other competent ministerial committees and their representatives in the international bodies who are instructed to adopt positions in harmony with the interests of the GCC. I would like to mention that GCC ministers of Foreign Affairs hold regular annual meetings on the periphery of the UN General Assembly meetings in New York, and on the occasion of the meetings of other international bodies. Moreover, the delegates of the GCC member states to the UN frequently meet to coordinate the position of their countries vis-à-vis the different political issues.

WA: Has the GCC taken a position on the nuclearisation of South Asia?

JIA: The GCC had expressed its grave concern over the nuclearisation in South Asia and also over the arms race undertaken by the two countries. The dangerous effects of such acts on the security and stability of the region are indeed very great.

The GCC called upon the two countries to sign the Nuclear Anti-Proliferation Treaty and the treaty banning nuclear weapons tests. The GCC also praised Pakistan’s decision to cease its nuclear tests and it hopes that India would follow suit. We have also noted the new race in long-range missiles. This is also very serious and would generate anxiety in South Asia and beyond.

WA: What in your view are the most important developments in regional cooperation since the GCC’s establishment?

JIA: There are many landmarks in the development of teamwork within the framework of the GCC. It is not possible to enumerate all of them but there are certainly some political and economic decisions worth mentioning.

In the political sphere, the decision to liberate Kuwait in 1990, taken during the Doha Summit was one of the important historical political decisions ever made by the GCC. The Doha Summit asserted the oneness of the Gulf security and emphasised the fact that any aggression against any member state would be considered as an aggression against all the GCC states.

In the economic domain, the endorsement of the Unified Economic Agreement in 1981, the same year in which the GCC was established, was a giant stride in the way of development of this entity. This stride was followed by the establishment of the Duty Free Zone in 1983, and now we are about to enter the new phase of Customs Union, as I mentioned previously. There are also some other important resolutions such as the realisation of Gulf economic citizenship, the establishment of joint institutions etc.

In the military field too, there are some important agreements already mentioned earlier. There are also, after eighteen years of extensive joint work, many achievements in education, health, environment, legislation and security that represent as a whole a new era in the ongoing integration of the Gulf states.

WA: And what in your view are the major problems in the way of regional cooperation? In the EU model, regional cooperation is a stepping stone to regional integration. Abdullah Bishara, the former Secretary-General of the GCC had suggested in May 1981, on the occasion of the second anniversary of the GCC, that there was a consensus for the establishment of a “confederal structure”. Is that still the goal or has it evolved since then?

JIA: It is natural that any joint and collective work is confronted with some obstacles. The members are sovereign states and hence they may have interests that are not always identical with the others. Previously, I have pointed out that unifying the customs tariffs took years of laborious work and studies.

However, on the other hand the GCC has many other elements of integration, unity, and development which enabled it to overcome many obstacles and survive during the last two decades.

In respect of Gulf Confederation, it should be clear that since the very beginning, the leaders of the member states were reluctant to confine the GCC within traditional and theoretical frameworks. The wording of the objectives was coined in a somewhat general and flexible way. Article 4 of the Charter stipulates that the first objective of the organisation is to effectuate coordination, integration and interconnection among the member states in all fields in order to achieve unity among them. It does not elaborate more on how or when.

After a lot of teamwork, we have come to realise the wisdom of having such a general wording of the first objective, for it gives us a great deal of flexibility and manoeuvrability. We are in favour of a scientific approach that results in the gradual achievement of goals.

WA: The neo-functionalist theory of regional cooperation—so rampant in the western world—argues that if regional cooperation begins with mutually useful, micro, non-political issues between members of the regional body, it should eventually facilitate the task of cooperation on macro issues. Do you think that such argumentation is relevant to the Persian Gulf area?

JIA: We wish to pay more attention to economic cooperation. We are convinced that the interests of the people can be best served by focusing on economic issues. However, the complicated circumstances that hit the area in the 1980s and in the beginning of the 1990s compelled us to give priority to the political and security aspects at the expense of economic cooperation and other elements for healthy development.

In answer to your question I would like to state that we believe it is more logical to concentrate at the beginning on the micro non-political issues in order to pave the way for a prosperous Gulf that would permit us to later address macro issues such as security etc.

Such an approach is logically possible, only when good intentions prevail among the countries of the region which must adhere to international conventions, principles of good neighbourliness, non-interference and respect for the sovereignty of nations. These prerequisites are indispensable to set up viable relations among the countries of the region.

WA: How is the Secretary General appointed and what is his role?

JIA: The Secretary-General is appointed by the Supreme Council for a period of three years that is renewable. The Secretary-General’s tasks include supervising the functions of the Secretariat General and monitoring the implementation of the resolutions and recommendations approved by the Supreme Council and the Ministerial Council. He also represents the GCC at different meetings within the limits of the authority vested in him.

In addition to these administrative, technical and legal functions, the Secretary-General undertakes some other important duties such as preparing studies and reports requested by the Supreme Council and the Ministerial Council as well as drawing up the agenda of the ordinary sessions of the Ministerial Council. He is also entitled to add new items on the agenda, if necessary.

WA: What are your ambitions and objectives so far as regional cooperation is concerned? In your view, what should the GCC focus on as priority as we move into the next millennium?

JIA: In brief, we look forward to concluding the rules and regulations of the Gulf Common Market, and establishing an economic bloc that could reduce GCC’s dependence on oil and gas so that we can then occupy our rightful place among other blocs. We are convinced that such an objective could not be attained unless we carry out all the objectives drawn up in the Unified Economic Agreement.

On a parallel track, we are working to update and develop the self-defence capabilities of the GCC states and, at the same time, we are striving to establish confidence-building measures among the countries of the region that will guarantee our security and stability in the future.

The establishment of the GCC by itself is an important step to prepare us to move into the next millennium to face the new challenges of cultural and economic globalisation, and of the fast growing technology which is making the world smaller and smaller.

WA: What role, if any, did the GCC play during the two Gulf Wars?

JIA: The Iraq-Iran war started one year before establishment of the GCC. Since the first summit held in May 1981, the GCC member states supported all the efforts to contain the dispute and to halt the acts of war. The GCC leaders endeavoured to continually remind the international community of the dangers of that bloody war and the threats it represented to the stability of a region so important and so vital to the whole world. The efforts of the GCC states contributed a great deal to the decisions of the Security Council which helped to confine the war at the beginning and then put an end to it.

In respect of the invasion of Kuwait, nobody imagined that deterring aggression, liberating Kuwait, and consequently establishing security and stability in the region, could have been accomplished without the important and vital role assumed by the GCC states from the very first moment of the invasion. The GCC states employed all their military, financial, diplomatic and information capabilities to stop the advance of the aggressive troops. The eviction of the Iraqi forces from Kuwait was launched from the territories of the GCC states which, in addition to their contribution to the military effort, were the necessary strategic base for Desert Storm.

WA: Has the GCC established any criteria for admitting new members to the organisation?

JIA: The Charter stipulates that the GCC is composed of the six member states which are linked to each other by an array of common ties, including similarity. To open the door for other members would require an amendment of the Charter, and would need a consensual agreement of all its members.