Question and Answer Session
Dr Tim Huxley, Executive Director, IISS Asia
My question to Sheikh Mohammed relates to the relations between this region and Asian countries. I am particularly interested in what role the major Asian powers – China, Japan and also India – might play in the security of this region and whether there are any contributions you think they might usefully make in the future.
Dr Mamoun Fandy, Corresponding Director, IISS Middle East
Dr Mohammed, thank you very much for a wonderful speech. Since you mentioned Yemen in your speech, I would like to ask you whether Yemen is on the agenda of the GCC Heads of State to be hosted in Kuwait and is there any thought of putting together a policy position or package to stabilise Yemen from a GCC point of view?
Dr Mansoor Alarayedh, Chairman, Gulf Council for Foreign Relations
In relation to your speech basically regarding the road map for GCC security, does Your Excellency support the GCC neighbourhood nuclear security framework that will basically support GCC security and peace in the region?
Sheikh Muhammad Al Sabah
Dr Huxley, the relationship between the GCC and Asia, the Far East if you will, is an emerging relationship and it has its roots in the historical ties that exist between the GCC, Asia and the Far East in general. The relationship between the GCC and the Far East is the quintessential example of the concept of interdependency. We have a dialogue that we have initiated between the GCC and the Asia. It was started here by Bahrain under the auspices of His Majesty King Hamad and we had a meeting just a few months ago. We are going to have the next meeting in Singapore in the first quarter of next year.
The Far East has represented a very lucrative market for GCC products, especially petroleum products, crude and petrochemicals. China, as you know, is one of the largest consumers along with Japan and Korea. It represents the overwhelming proportion of our exports, which have been going to the Far East rather than to the West or the United States. The Far East also represents a fertile area for our investments, especially in the area of food security. Our Prime Minister, for example, made a visit to Southeast Asia about a year ago, in which we were exploring the ideas of agricultural land reclamation, irrigation techniques and investment in agricultural projects to find a secure source of food for our region. This idea has been explored and we are now taking some concrete steps to activate this concept of interdependence. We have the capital; they have the labour and we can mix these two together to produce the maximum benefit.
In terms of how we look at the Far East and a security linkage to the GCC, I think we have been moving more and more in terms of our relations with the Far East. As you know, trade is an important element in cementing relations between societies and if you look at the trade patterns between the GCC and the rest of the world, you will find the Far East is now occupying an increasing portion of the GCC trade flows.
In answer to my friend, Dr Mamoun Fandy, with respect to Yemen, Yemen is of course located in a very tricky part of this region. It is adjacent to the Horn of Africa, a region that has been witnessing numerous problems and we unfortunately have a failed state in a country, which is very close to ours, Somalia, a fellow Arab country. As a result all sorts of troubles have emerged from such a situation. Now we are starting to see it is not only confined to Somalia; it has been exported in the form of piracy and affected our trade flows throughout that whole region.
Of course Yemen has that problem, being adjacent to such a troubled area and it has been compounded by three types of challenges facing Yemen. On one hand you have the Houthi uprising in the north, which represents a serious security challenge to Sana’a; there is an emerging al‑Qaeda presence, because the central authority has been very much occupied by the Houthis and al-Qaeda have apparently started to find some footholds in the heartland of Yemen and thirdly, you have the most serious of all, the secessionist movement in the south, which is reviving the idea of two states, rather than one uniform state. The Yemeni government is now in an unenviable position and tomorrow the Foreign Minister of Yemen is going to arrive in Kuwait. He has a letter from His Excellency the President of Yemen addressed to the heads of state and I think the issue of Yemen is going to be discussed thoroughly. The implications of the Yemen crisis would have a profound impact on regional security and especially Gulf security.
It is the first time since the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait back in 1990 that the GCC has been held while one of its members is involved in active military operations with an outside power. I am talking about Saudi Arabia’s confrontation with the Houthi, who are trying to violate its territory. This is a phenomenon that we have not seen for the past 18 years and the GCC heads of state are certainly going to discuss this thoroughly and seriously.
With the respect to Dr Mansoor and whether the GCC is going to support the nuclear security pact, I cannot speak on behalf of the GCC at this moment, because it has not been discussed. I can only say the GCC have taken a decision to embark on an exploration of the viability and efficacy of using nuclear technology for power generation in the Gulf countries. The heads of state during their meeting in Saudi Arabia took a decision to explore this possibility and we have formed a committee among the GCC and we are in direct contact now with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to explore this idea. Even though this is a collective decision, we have two countries that I know of, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, that have decided to go ahead and build a nuclear power plant for water and electricity generation. The idea you have mentioned has not been discussed at the GCC, but I can tell you this is the direction in which we are heading.
Dr Mark Fitzpatrick, Senior Fellow for Non‑Proliferation, IISS
Sheikh Muhammad, in your prepared remarks you twice mentioned Iran in the context of problems, once regarding the nuclear programme. May I ask you, sir, what would Kuwait and the GCC like Iran to do to improve confidence in their intentions, particularly regarding the nuclear programme?
Participant
As we are meeting here, people are meeting in Copenhagen to address issues of climate change. That to oil‑producing countries is something that is laden with possibilities, maybe dire possibilities. Is this something that is being considered seriously at the next meeting of the GCC and are there any plans you could share with us on this?
Sheikh Muhammad Al Sabah
Dr Fitzpatrick, our Prime Minster paid a visit to Iran about a couple of weeks ago. We met with the [Murshid?], the President and the Speaker of Parliament. Firstly, we have expressed our total support to any country that would like to pursue nuclear technology for peaceful purposes according to the IAEA guidelines. We think this is the right of any country that wishes to acquire a technology for peaceful purposes. We also said that the ongoing confrontation between Iran and the rest of the world with regard to this nuclear programme, especially the confrontation between Iran and the IAEA, is something that would put the whole region in a state of tension, because we think that the IAEA is responsible for safeguarding any programme from being derailed or being used for clandestine purposes. Also, most importantly, as far as Kuwait is concerned, because we are the closest to some of these nuclear plants, especially in Bushehr, that might have some environmental impact. So, we expressed our concern about the IAEA’s not total satisfaction with the programme and we expressed to our Iranian friends that our concern stems, as far as Kuwait is concerned, from the environmental impact of these programmes. We want to make sure that these programmes are built according to the guidelines and the standards and the requirements of the IAEA guidelines.
What I said, in terms of my remarks, I have not characterised Iran as a problem. I characterise the Iran nuclear programme as a problem, because Iran is now facing a possible UN Security Sanctions. If that is what the Security Council is going to determine, then this region is going to enter into a period of tension. Iran is a major player in the Gulf. Any tension with Iran would reflect on the relationship between the GCC and Iran as well. We hope that Iran would satisfy the IAEA requirements, so that there would be no need for sanctions against Iran.
As well as [inaudible] comments on the GCC position, regarding the Copenhagen conference, and especially that there are some who argue that the oil exporting companies should bear a disproportionate portion of the debt or the burden of the environmental impact of using fossil fuels, I think that our position would be very strong in arguing the contrary. The GCC countries have allocated about $700 million for research in the area of CO2 sequestration, that is, a technology that will make using oil resources environmentally friendly. So, we are carrying some of the burden ourselves by investing in technology that would make the use of oil resources environmentally friendly. We do not think that is fair to shift burdens on developing countries, be it oil or, for that matter, countries that use resources in cutting forests to generate an exchange for the development, because that, apparently, according to some studies, has more damaging environmental impact than the consumption of fossil fuels.
So, in that sense, I think that the Copenhagen summit would come immediately after the GCC summit. It would be an opportunity for our Heads of State to discuss this issue.
John Chipman
Dr Sheikh Mumhammad, thank you very much for your splendid formal remarks, especially for reducing within them the economic dimension of security that I think will be very much at the background of our discussions over this weekend, and also for the subtlety with which you address the very vital demographic challenge that you referred to, suffered by so many of the states in the GCC. Also, during the question period, for answering so comprehensively and analytically the questions that were posed to you. You have set a very high standard that I very much hope others will follow. You have paid a great tribute to the Manama Dialogue process by coming here when your own personal agenda is so heavily charged, as Kuwait prepares for this very important and historically vital GCC Head of State summit meeting next week. Thank you very much for the honour of addressing us here. You have sung for your supper, I think it is time that you enjoy it. Thank you.
