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Gulf monarchies to boost links with Turkey
Oil-rich Gulf monarchies will sign an accord with Turkey aimed at boosting ties between the pro-Western Arab bloc and Ankara, the chief of the Gulf Cooperation Council said on Sunday.
The "memorandum of understanding" to be inked in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah on Tuesday will provide for "cooperation in the economic, political and security domains," GCC Secretary General Abdurrahman al-Attiyah told AFP.
Attiyah said GCC foreign ministers are due to meet in Jeddah on Tuesday and will hold talks with their Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan on the sidelines of the meeting.
The MoU will pave the way for the conclusion of a free trade agreement between the GCC and Turkey that has been under negotiation since 2005, he said.
The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. GCC states have good relations with Turkey.
"Turkey has an important role in the region. It is a balanced and moderate role," Attiyah said.
The Sunni-ruled Arab monarchies of the Gulf have been uneasy about the growing influence of overwhelmingly Shiite Iran, another regional heavyweight, in Iraq and Lebanon.
But they have repeatedly called for a negotiated settlement of Iran's standoff with the United States over Tehran's nuclear programme.
Attiyah said the GCC ministers will discuss Iran's recent decision to set up two new facilities on one of three Gulf islands disputed with the UAE.
Tehran's establishment of a maritime rescue office and a ship registration office on Abu Musa island drew a formal protest from the UAE earlier this month.
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