P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News

JEDDAH, 6 June 2004 — The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council yesterday welcomed the new interim government in Baghdad with the hope it can build an independent and united Iraq.

The choice of Ghazi Al-Yawar as interim president and the naming of a transitional government under Iyad Allawi are “an important step on the road of transferring sovereignty to Iraqis” the GCC foreign ministers said after a meeting here.

The ministers from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates also welcomed the formation of an electoral commission to oversee elections planned for next January.

They expressed hope that Iraqis will be able to “overcome challenges” and build a stable and prosperous country living in peace with its neighbors and the rest of the world.

The meeting stressed the United Nations’ “pivotal role” in preparing the ground for the handover of power to Iraqis by the US-led coalition on the June 30 target date and urged the Security Council to ensure that Iraq recovers its sovereignty as early as possible.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al-Sabah, who chaired the meeting, later told reporters his country would restore diplomatic ties with Iraq, severed 14 years ago, “as soon as the Security Council issues a resolution confirming the legitimacy of the current Iraqi government.”

He said Kuwait would then reopen its diplomatic mission in Baghdad, closed since the forces of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded the emirate in August 1990, occupying it for seven months before being driven out by a US-led coalition.

He said the meeting also approved a recommendation by Olympic committees in their respective countries for Iraq to resume taking part in Gulf soccer cups and it would be submitted to the GCC heads of state for endorsement.

The meeting denounced the recent terrorist attacks in Alkhobar and reaffirmed its unqualified support for Saudi Arabia in confronting terrorism.

A final communiqué issued after the meeting said the Kingdom’s security forces were capable of dealing with the “deviant group” — a reference to Al-Qaeda sympathizers.

A rampage in Alkhobar last weekend left 22 people dead after suspected terrorists went on a shooting spree and seized hostages.

The carnage, purportedly claimed by Al-Qaeda, was one of the bloodiest episodes in a yearlong campaign of terror in Saudi Arabia blamed on sympathizers of the network, which has killed more than 85 people and injured hundreds.

“We must deploy all efforts and cooperate with the international community to fight this epidemic,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

The ministerial council meeting welcomed the signing of a counterterrorism pact by GCC interior ministers on May 4 and said the accord reflected the GCC’s resolve to fight terror. “It will also strengthen security cooperation between the six member countries,” the communiqué said.

GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Atiyya has described it as the most important accord since the council was formed in 1981. “On this historic occasion, we welcome and congratulate new Iraqi President Yawar and members of the interim Iraqi government,” Sheikh Mohammad said in his opening address.

“We wish them success in carrying out their responsibilities to build a new Iraq and restore Iraq’s effective role in the region and internationally,” the Kuwaiti minister said.

“The situation in the new Iraq requires us to stand by the brotherly Iraqi people to maintain their independence and territorial integrity,” he added. The meeting condemned “the inhuman treatment” of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, saying US jailers violated the Geneva Convention and other international charters.

The GCC urged the United States, the European Union and the international community to put an end to Israel’s assassination of Palestinian leaders and destruction of Palestinian houses and lift the siege on Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

“The meeting condemned the state terrorism practiced by the Israeli government and its military machinery in the occupied territories,” the communiqué said.