GCC meet wraps up in Bahrain with ‘Sakhir Declaration’

By Ahmed al-Masry

MANAMA, Bahrain

The 37th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit wrapped up on Wednesday in Bahraini capital Manama with participants issuing a declaration laying out their shared positions on a host of regional issues.

In the "Sakhir Declaration", leaders of GCC member states called on Iran to change its policies in the region, condemning what they described as Iranian "interference" in the GCC’s internal affairs.

They also called on Iran to end its ongoing "occupation" of three islands in the Persian Gulf -- Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs -- which, they assert, belong to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Tension has soared between Sunni-led Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran since Riyadh officially severed ties with Tehran early this year after two of its diplomatic missions in Iran were stormed by Iranian protesters.

The incident at the two diplomatic missions was prompted by the execution of prominent Shia cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by the Saudi authorities.

The diplomatic crisis escalated further after Iran prohibited its citizens from performing this year’s Islamic Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

The GCC -- which includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar -- frequently accuses Tehran of "interfering" in the affairs of regional states, especially Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.

In the Sakhir Declaration, GCC leaders also called for the acceleration of efforts to establish a common Gulf market and the promotion of the GCC region as a global financial, economic and investment hub.

Notably, this year’s GCC Summit was also attended by British Prime Minister Theresa May, the first British PM -- and first woman -- to ever attend the event.

Next year’s GCC Summit -- the 38th -- is slated to be held in Kuwait City.