Gulf Cooperation Council

Weak oil prices pose a threat to Gulf Arab states' currency pegs against the dollar, but the energy-rich region is unlikely to abandon the policy yet, analysts say.

Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all keep the values of their currencies fixed against the greenback, while Kuwait has a link to a basket of currencies including the dollar.

Gulf monarchies on March 2 declared Lebanon's Hezbollah a "terrorist" group, in the latest regional move against the Shiite organisation fighting in support of Syria's regime.

Kuwait became Jan. 5 the latest Gulf Arab state to recall its ambassador from Iran to protest attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in the Islamic republic.

Gulf economies need to adjust to the ?new reality? of oil prices expected to remain low for some time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said, recommending spending cuts and income diversification.

As hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees languish in camps or risk their lives to reach Europe, questions are being asked about why wealthy Gulf states have accepted so few.
 
By the end of August, more than four million Syrians had fled their country but very few if any refugees have been officially accepted by the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
 

Washington has agreed to speed up arms sales to Gulf states, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced on August 3 after talks in Doha on their concerns over the Iran nuclear deal.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Qatar on August 2 for talks with his Gulf Arab counterparts on the next leg of a regional tour to ease allies' concerns over the Iran nuclear deal.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will seek to reassure Gulf Arab officials at a meeting in Qatar soon that Washington will work with them to "push back" against Iranian influence in the region, he told the pan-Arab newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu met United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar Muhammad Gargash on Sunday, on the sides of the EU - Gulf Cooperation Council ministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar.

Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES PHOTO

Syria needs a political change that will leave current leader Bashar al-Assad out, according to Daniel Rubinstein, the United States' special envoy for Syria.