Ayoon Wa Azan (Gulf Investments Are Shrinking)
Jihad el Khazen Al Hayat - 14/03/08//
Any tension in the relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar is an exception to the rule. For as a general rule, the relations are supposed to be close and good-termed. Now, the bilateral relations are finally back to normal.
There were discords before, like border demarcation for instance; yet I have never seen a deep misunderstanding that can hamper cooperation between the two countries. These discords, of the type that usually surface between two neighboring countries, would have been a thing of the past had Al Jazeera's coverage of Saudi news during the last few years not cast a shadow over them. When a colleague of mine asked me, two days ago in an interview with Al Jazeera, about the cause of discords between the two countries, I answered: "You," trying to lighten the answer with a smile.
If Al Jazeera was a reason for tension in the past, it is responsible now for looking after and supporting the good transformations. And this it can do. Things started to return back to normal when Al Jazeera changed its coverage of Saudi news last year. Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasem Bin Jabr visited the KSA, followed by Prince Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa. After that, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz attended the GCC Summit in Doha last December. Now, with Prince Sultan Bin Abdallah's official visit, the matter was finally settled. There were "good-doers" who said that Qatar changed its tone towards the Saudi Kingdom to guarantee the success of the Doha Summit and that "Al Jazeera" would go back to its former self after the summit. However, those who were trying to put sticks in the wheels of the bilateral relations lost and relations remained good, if not more rooted.
That means that the next GCC summit in Muscat will be one of the most successful summits ever. The diplomatic effort of an individual country pales in comparison with the joint efforts of two or more countries, or even the whole Council. While KSA is seen as a bigger brother, in terms of size and capabilities and not the dominance of the strong over the weak, Qatar exerts a diplomatic effort that goes beyond its size. It has strong relations with Syria and Iran, as well as Hamas. It even has a special relationship with France's Nicolas Sarkozy. Qatar can harness all of these connections to boost the Arab interest, whether by defending Palestinians against Israeli brutality, ending their ongoing internecine conflict, or formulating a common Gulf position on Iran and its nuclear program, a position that protects Arab interests without alarming Iran or pushing it towards negative stands.
As long as the situation is good, and I hope it becomes better, I would like to draw the attention of all the GCC countries to a matter they seem to overlook.
I think that Western countries, namely the United States and the European Union, are trying to cut the GCC investments in the Western economy. Two weeks ago, in the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, I attended many sessions concerning the Arab investment funds, now called Sovereign Wealth Funds. I noticed a tendency among Western nations to decide what these funds can and cannot buy.
As usual, it all started with the US, which, as I read, is seeking an agreement with oil-rich countries, an agreement that defines the bases of the investment relation. Kuwait replied by saying that the enforced laws were more than sufficient. Now I am reading that the EU adopted the US position and would also like to conclude an agreement with investing countries.
Based upon my old suspicion that I hold against the West - and my extreme suspicion of the Bush Administration - I feel there is some kind of discrimination - or racism - against Arabs. A discrimination that we must confront. Our success will be far greater if the GCC adopts a united stand.
I end on a lower note: when the bilateral relations were rough, the commercial or personal relationships were not affected and the economic cooperation maintained its momentum. As for personal relationships, I have a small anecdote I would like to share with our readers. Qatar's Crown Prince Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa and Prince Khaled Bin Sultan, the Assistant Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia and the publisher of our newspaper, were classmates in the well-known Sandhurst Royal Military Academy in Britain. They are still friends till now. When a problem arises, Prince Khaled would call me and say: "Do not embarrass me in front of Sheikh Hamad," even though he never calls to give any professional or political guidelines but instead gives editors-in-chief and editors every possible freedom.
I think Prince Khaled will not be needing to make such phone calls after Prince Sultan's visit.
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