UAE hails US commitment to security

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The GCC countries need today more than any time before to solidify their joint action mechanism to address and confront challenges facing them in a regional troubled setting fraught with risks and threats and in an international environment experiencing rapid and important transformations in terms of stance policies and trends said His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

In a statement marking his participation at the GCC-US Summit in Riyadh on Thursday Shaikh Mohammed said: "The GCC countries are key actors in the interactions that are going on in the Arab region and the Middle East given their regional and international influence their ability to affect the course of events in the region and their strategic importance to the world. They have a great responsibility to preserve security and stability in the region and stand united against plots of chaos and destruction that some of the countries were facing. These circumstances give this summit with US President Barack Obama a special significance especially at this delicate juncture the region is passing through."

Shaikh Mohammed said the latest unified stance taken by the GCC countries towards many pressing issues and files send a clear message: the GCC countries are capable of defending their interests and gains of their peoples and have the will to take effective action against any threats to their security.

Regionally he noted that the UAE's policies towards the crises in the region - from Yemen Libya Iraq to Syria - are based on clear principles with the top priority being the preservation of the security and stability of Arab countries and standing beside them in their efforts to realise interests of their peoples and serve their aspirations towards development stability and progress.

The UAE also backs these countries in their efforts to stand against the forces of extremism violence and terrorism which pose a real threat to the present and future of all countries and communities and to take a firm position in confronting interference in their domestic affairs or dictating a sectarian and religious agenda.

Making a note of the Middle East peace process and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people Shaikh Mohammed affirmed that the Palestinian cause will remain the central issue to the Arabs and that reaching a true peace will result in tackling the many consequences and results left by the Israeli occupation and its stubbornness. He emphasised the need for ending the suffering of the Palestinian people in accordance with relevant international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative so as to lay the foundations of security and stability in the region.

The participation of President Obama at the summit Shaikh Mohammed said had provided a good opportunity for the GCC-US leaders to discuss and exchange views on whatever serves security and stability puts an end to the raging disputes and wars and confronts the risks facing the region mainly extremism terrorism proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and others.

He lauded the GCC-US ties as "historic" and pointed to the commitment from the GCC side to enforce them within the framework of mutual understanding and dialogue.

Noting Obama's participation in the summit he said it underscores the US commitment towards its ties with the GCC countries and its desire to learn about the GCC leaders' points of view on regional crises issues and concerns.

"The GCC countries understand the nature of the changes and transformations taking place at regional and international arenas and are closely monitoring them so as to respond to them with careful and forward-looking vision through diverse foreign action and building of effective strategic partnerships with important influencing powers regionally and internationally for the sake of consolidating the pillars of security and stability in the Gulf region Arab World and the Middle East at large" Shaikh Mohammed emphasised.

He expressed his profound appreciation to Saudi Arabia for its efforts to bolster the GCC-Arab joint action mechanisms. "At this critical juncture in the history of the region" Sheikh Mohammed noted "There is a need for wisdom from Saudi Arabia's leadership and its heavy regional and international weight to strengthen Arab-Islamic solidarity."

He pledged the UAE will stand by Saudi Arabia in its efforts to protect the region from schemes by foreign powers and to preserve regional security and stability. - Wam