Including Yemen in the GCC
Reservations on including Yemen are not only political - there are also currency problems and economic disparities
The population of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will be 70 million if Yemen, whose population is 25 million, joins. Its inclusion will strengthen the GCC geopolitically as it will overlook all sea lanes in three strategic seas. The Yemen war has proven undoubtedly that the country can be the door through which the winds of chaos and foreign interference blow.
It is too early to talk about Yemen's future given the ongoing war there, but a roadmap on Yemen’s future ties with the GCC should be now be discussed in order to be paired with the current political arrangements being put in place in Aden and Sanaa. Prior to the Arab Spring, the Council had studied several options regarding including Yemen as a member.
However, Ali Abdullah Saleh's presidency represented a huge problem because Gulf governments do not trust him, especially because of his shifting alliances. When the Arab Spring reached Yemen, discussions on including the country in the GCC were frozen.
Reservations on including Yemen are not only political - there are also currency problems and economic disparities. However, there are various solutions to these problems, as has happened with economic reforms among the weakest members of the European Union (EU). Therefore, what matters is political will.
Opportunity
Perhaps the current tragedy in Yemen presents a historic opportunity for the GCC to promise to include and support it. This will make the Yemeni people realize that there is a better future, and will help them understand that Gulf intervention in the current war has a positive plan, and is not a mere personal or regional struggle. Yemeni parties and figures across the spectrum will be able to take responsible stances that serve the future of the country.
Reservations on including Yemen are not only political - there are also currency problems and economic disparities
Abdulrahman al-RashedYemen grants the GCC strategic, economic and demographic weight due to its labor market and geography. The country remains a major part of the GCC system, which despite its name actually represents the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. It is time to complete this system.
This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Oct. 25, 2015.
______________
Abdulrahman al-Rashed is the former General Manager of Al Arabiya News Channel. A veteran and internationally acclaimed journalist, he is a former editor-in-chief of the London-based leading Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, where he still regularly writes a political column. He has also served as the editor of Asharq al-Awsat’s sister publication, al-Majalla. Throughout his career, Rashed has interviewed several world leaders, with his articles garnering worldwide recognition, and he has successfully led Al Arabiya to the highly regarded, thriving and influential position it is in today.
-
GCC official ‘deeply regrets’ failed Yemen talks
GCC Secretary General Abdullatif Al Zayani called on Houthis to prioritize the Yemeni state’s interests above narrower ones Middle East -
Yemen’s GCC membership is rightly back on the agenda
The ambition to join the GCC goes back to the 1990s, and has seen some progress in the previous decade Middle East -
Gulf states insist on Saudi venue for Yemen talks
The GCC insisted that talks on ending Yemen’s conflict be brokered by the regional body and held in Riyadh Middle East -
Official: Yemen to request membership in GCC next month
‘We will present a plan in Saudi Arabia next month’ spokesman Rajeh Badi said Middle East -
Gulf FMs to discuss Yemen as govt declares disaster zones
Gulf foreign ministers will meet this week with focus on Yemen to cover “issues vital to the operations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)" Middle East -
GCC to ‘aid’ Yemen reconstruction
Separately, Yassin compared the situation in Yemen to that of Kuwait in 1990 referring to the first Gulf War Middle East