GCC plans five-year aid scheme for Jordan, Morocco

WAM & Reuters
September 11, 2011

UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed chairs Gulf bloc meeting

Jeddah: Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) met here Sunday under the chairmanship of UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss the latest developments in the regional, Arab and international arena.

Foreign ministers of Jordan and Morocco are attending the meeting for the first time.

Gulf Arab countries plan to fund a five-year development aid program for Morocco and Jordan, aspiring members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) political and economic bloc, and the amount will be set in December, the GCC's chief said on Sunday.

Oil-exporting Gulf monarchies are seeking closer ties with Arab counterparts outside the Gulf to help contain pro-democracy unrest that is buffeting autocratic ruling elites throughout the Arab world, analysts say.

The six members of the GCC -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain -- said in May they would consider a request by the two Arab monarchies to join, but as yet few practical steps have been taken.

"There is a call for creating an economic development program for the two brotherly countries Jordan and Morocco," GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif Al Zayani said after a Gulf foreign ministers meeting in Jeddah.

"A recommendation on the size (of the aid) will be made and a decision taken by the heads of states of the GCC at their next summit (in December)," Zayani said of the five-year program.

Within the bloc, the richer Gulf countries have offered $10 billion each in development funds to Bahrain and Oman, where protesters took to the streets this year demanding reforms.

Source: Gulf News.
Link: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/gcc-plans-five-year-aid-scheme-for-jordan-morocco-1.864684.