The idea of a Gulf union has sparked regional debate ever since Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz put forward the proposal in GCC summit held in Riyadh in 2011.
King Abdullah then urged neighboring states to join in a formal Gulf union to confront what he called rising threats to their security and stability.
“History and experience have taught us not to stop and watch the status quo as whoever follows such a behavior will find himself in the end of the queue facing loss and weakness. We all don’t accept this situation for our nations, peoples, stability and security.” He added, “Therefore, let me ask you today to go beyond the stage of cooperation to the stage of union in one entity that achieves the good and wards off evil.”
But the idea of a gulf union was first addressed by King Abdullah, when was the kingdom's crown prince in 2001 during a GCC summit in Muscat.
“We still have the opportunity to diagnose and rectify the ailment which I believe we all agree on, namely the separation that has created distance between brothers and neighbors. I believe that the remedy is effective cooperation and unity,” the then crown prince said.
“We have always striven for unity, but failed when we tied our hopes to symbolic constitutional arrangements that led nowhere. The progress of our unity must learn from its past errors, and should benefit from other successful attempts to unit,” he added.
“The GCC has not yet accomplished its projected aspirations. For over twenty years, the progress of the GCC has been very slow when compared with the pace of the modern age,” thenCrown Prince Abdullah said at the time.
“We have not yet created a military force capable of confronting enemies and supporting friends; we have not yet achieved a unified economic market; we have not yet been able to forge a unified political position with which to face political crises.”
The Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] was established between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE in an agreement that was concluded on May 25, 1981. The bloc was established between the six countries because of what they said was their similar political systems based on Islamic beliefs, joint destiny and common objectives.
The formation of GCC came in the backdrop of the Iran-Iraq war and the Iranian aspiration to export to the Islamic Revolution beyond their border.
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