The GCC is witnessing a massive diplomatic crisis because of Riyadh’s assertiveness, on the one hand, and Doha’s resistance to a Saudi-dominated regional order, on the other.
The decision to target Qatar clearly indicates that the region is now divided into two camps and that the Arab Gulf countries are in no mood to accept neutral players.
While the Iran nuclear agreement will be the primary agenda of the summit, there are expectations that other regional issues will also be raised: the campaign against the Islamic State, removal of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the ongoing war in Yemen and the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Sultan Qaboos once observed that “while other Gulf Arabs prefer to get on a camel and go west into the Arab desert, Omanis prefer to be on a boat and drift towards India.”
Gulshan Dietl replies: The US Administration is under the pro-Israeli influence. It is pervasive in terms of its political, financial and media power. The Arab world is in no position to pressurise the US on the Israel-Palestine issue.
A vast majority of Palestinians are Sunni. According to estimates, only about one per cent of them are Shia.
India-GCC relationship is growing stronger by the day as both realise the potential and importance of each other. Trade and commerce is the most important pillar of the India-GCC relationship. Success of high volume of trade and commerce between India and GCC revolves around a high degree of trade and economic complementarity as both caters to each other's economic demands.
The approach of GCC countries towards the Syrian crisis has shifted from appealing for political reforms to internationalising the issue to arming the regime’s opposition.
Will the GCC Survive?
It is unrealistic and naïve to expect Qatar to surrender. And it is not beyond diplomacy to work out a face-saving formula