By Xinhua
Doha (Qatar) : Leaders of the six oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations gathered here late Monday to discuss regional security issues and economic integration among the group members.
Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani addressed the opening ceremony of the 28th GCC annual summit. He said that peace and security are the need of people in the Gulf region.
Besides the heads of state of other five GCC countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took part in the two-day conference.
Ahmadinejad, who became the first Iranian president to attend a GCC summit, said that the Gulf region needs various security and economic pacts without foreign intervention.
All Gulf countries should make every effort to avoid pushing the region into more tensions, he said.
GCC Secretary General Abdul Rahman Bin Hamad al-Attiyah has said that economic integration and regional security will be on top of the agenda.
Founded in 1981, the GCC is a regional, political and economic alliance aimed at enhancing cooperation among its six member states.