The Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council for the Arab Gulf States decided at its 118th session to set up the Gulf Development Programme to fund the development projects of the GCC countries as per the directives from Their Majesties and Highnesses the leaders of the GCC.
It also resolved to allocate US$20 billion to the development projects over 10 years, of which US$10 billion of the amount will be allocated each to the Kingdom of Bahrain and Sultanate of Oman.
The Council also decided to form a committee of representatives of the Member States to establish the necessary mechanisms of this programme and hold its first meeting at the headquarters of the General Secretariat within two weeks. This programme will adopt the referred to mechanisms in the next consultative meeting of Their Majesties and Highnesses the leaders of the GCC.
The statement issued in Riyadh today by the 118th session of the ministerial council said the inception of the GCC came in response to the strategic, historical, social, cultural and political reality of the peoples of the region and pursuant to the achievement of an integrative framework of common security, and to maintain their potential and deal with any foreign encroachments on them.
The statement added, “since the inception of the GCC the leaders built a close relationship among themselves and peoples based on common interests. The relationship between the rulers and peoples is based on participation, consultation and fairness, which lead to the well-being, prosperity and equality among citizens”.
It continued, “in this context, the GCC countries and peoples reject out of hand any attempts of foreign interference in their affairs, indicating that they are resolved and determined to deal with those who incite sectarian strife or discord among citizens and States, or those who threaten the GCC security and interests.” The statement said that any damage to the security of any GCC country is deemed a damage to the security of all GCC States, and will be dealt with immediately without any hesitation.
