Gulf leaders to focus on economy amid Gaza crisis

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DUBAI, Dec 29 (AFP): Leaders of oil-rich Gulf countries assembling in Muscat today will focus on how to use their wealth to shore up their economies, after a discussion Sunday on the bloody situation in Gaza.
The annual two-day Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit seemed in doubt after Israel on Saturday launched wave after wave of air attacks on the impoverished Gaza Strip, leaving 280 Palestinians dead at the latest count.
However, Omani Foreign Minister Yussef bin Alawi said foreign ministers of the six GCC countries were scheduled to meet Sunday, to "put finishing touches to the agenda, including economic questions."
The official sessions of the summit are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.
"The most appropriate reply to the events under way in the Palestinian situation would be for the Palestinian brothers to close ranks by reaching understanding and national unity," Omani Information Minister Hamad al-Rashidi said.
He added: "It is up to the UN Security Council to apply pressure for Israel to stop the attacks."
However, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said "Israeli aggression" would be the focus of Sunday's meeting of Gulf foreign ministers.
The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which together sit on 25 per cent of the world's natural gas reserves and 45 per cent of global oil reserves, providing one quarter of the world's oil demands.
The nations can afford to dip into their bulging treaure chests after crude oil prices hit record levels this year, and leaders will try to agree a joint approach at the summit.
"The oil countries of the Gulf will be able to cope with the crisis and to write off its impact on their economies for a year or a year and a half," said Kuwaiti expert Jassem Al-Saadoun.