AL chief: GCC summit key step toward Arab integration

MUSCAT, Dec. 28 (Chinese media) -- The upcoming summit of

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is the stance of the whole Arab world and a key

step to achieve the Arab integration, Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr

Moussa said in an interview with local daily Oman Tribune published on Sunday.

"The activities of the GCC summit are very crucial in

enhancing the inter-Arab relations," Moussa said, adding that "The GCC economic

integration is a step forward to achieve the Arab integration."

The 29th annual summit of GCC, which consists of

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, will

beheld in the Omani capital of Muscat on Monday.

As for the economic outlook of the oil-fuelled Gulf

countries, Moussa said the Gulf economies are not insulate from the global

crisis, but adding that "The GCC economies will somehow remain resilient, thanks

to the surpluses from oil revenues when oil prices reached its peak few months

ago."

The benchmark oil prices are now hovering at some 35

U.S. dollars per barrel, shedding more than 110 dollars from its zenith in mid

July.

Saudi Arabia, the GCC's largest and most resilient economy,

last week forecasted a fiscal deficit in 2009, the first one since 2002

when the oil boom started.

However, the oil heavyweight, which has hoarded more

than 400 billion dollars of reserve during the oil boom, also projected a

current account surplus and a positive growth of some 4.3 percent in 2009.

But the AL chief also said that "Arab economic

integration depend on the policies undertaken in the whole Arab world and not

only on region," referring to the Arab Economic summit slated for Jan. 19, when

the Arab leaders will convene in Kuwait to coordinate Arab efforts to weather

the unfolding global economic crisis.

"Any success by this (GCC) summit will serve the

interest of all the Arabs," he said.

Terming the rampant piracy on the high sea off Somali

coast as "terrorism," he also suggested establishing an Arab Marine Force

stationed in the Red Sea to protect the vessels.

"Terrorism now has extended to the sea after we

suffered from it on land, cities, and desert and even air," he said.

Established in 1981, GCC is a regional political and

economic alliance aimed at enhancing cooperation among its six member

countries.