Have you missed the most important political stories of this week on the GCC crisis? Scroll all the way down to get the updates on the latest developments in the ongoing Gulf crisis.
And here's what happened last week: GCC Crisis Updates Week 171.
The statement of His Highness (H.H.) Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad
on 8 September 2017 about Kuwait’s success in stopping any military action against Qatar was not a normal political statement, as it revealed the facts, goals and moves that the blockading countries wanted to take on 5 June 2017. This information was revealed by His Excellency Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs a few days ago, according to Al Sharq.
H.H. Sheikh Sabah visited Doha on 8 June 2017, where he held talks with H.H. the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during which he briefed His Highness on his generous efforts in trying to solve the crisis. Regarding the relations between Qatar with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, for the sake of the normalisation of relations and the unity of the Gulf Cooperation Council states, where His Highness Sheikh Tamim thanked the sincere efforts of the Kuwaiti Emir in trying to resolve the Gulf crisis.
Although the mediation efforts made by the late Emir of Kuwait and other international parties did not succeed in ending the blockade, the Kuwaiti Emir did try his best to stop the military escalation, which forced the blockading countries to retreat and then try to justify their blockade of Qatar.
Residents of Kuwaiti reacted with sadness upon hearing of the death of the country's Emir H.H. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah at the age 91 who had been in the United States for a while seeking medical attention.
Sheikh Sabah was well-known in the Arab region as a defender of the GCC and had always wanted stability, friendly ties and a sense of brotherhood between the GCC countries, based on Al Jazeera's report on its website.
Clemens Chay, a research fellow at National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute, told Al Jazeera:
“He earned Kuwait a reputation as a centrist state in Arab politics.”
Following his return to Kuwait after medical treatment in the US in 2019, Sheikh Sabah had said:
“It is no longer acceptable nor tolerable to have an ongoing dispute among our brotherly GCC states. It has weakened our capabilities and undermined our gains.” (Al Jazeera)
A French diplomat familiar with Kuwait told Al Jazeera:
“Since 2017 Kuwait has engaged in unceasing diplomatic, political, economic and technical efforts to keep alive the multilateral regional framework that was the GCC, despite all the attacks from other regional actors.”
According to the French diplomat, the concept of multilateralism has been engraved in the Kuwaiti identity ever since the 1990-1991 Gulf War and the late Kuwaiti ruler was
“one of the last proponents of multilateralism in the Gulf region and across the Middle East”.(Al Jazeera)
According to Altawari:
“The GCC has always been at the heart of Kuwait’s policy." (Al Jazeera)
He noted the country firmly believes in the GCC as
“a concept, as a way forward for Kuwait and the rest of the region”. (Al Jazeera)
The country’s 83-year-old Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah was named the new Emir of Kuwait to succeed his half-brother H.H. Sheikh Sabah.
Sources: Al Sharq and Al Jazeera
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