Alwaght- The (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) is a trading and political bloc that contains 6 Arab states, and its members actually pursue common economic and social objectives. The council was formed in 1981 to counter what its members called the threats coming from the Iranian Islamic Revolution. The member states seek to take cue from the EU pattern to agree on a single currency, single visa, joint security, joint army, and joint central bank. However, the deep-rooted differences among these Arab states as well as their full dependence to the foreign powers and forces distance them far away from their goal.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the largest among other members of the council, has attempted to play a decisive role in leading the (P)GCC's policies. The Saudi will for leadership has sometimes been challenged by members like Kuwait and Oman. Oman in recent years has taken a more independent course from the approaches of other members, building an increasingly growing relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Omani leaders despite ongoing crisis in Syria kept their embassy open in Damascus, and hosted secret talks between the US and Iran before Tehran reached the nuclear deal with the world powers. Although bearing brunts of Riyadh pressures, the Omani leaders declined to take part in the anti-Yemeni Saudi-led military coalition.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Oman highlights the country's several thousand years of age and tries to adopt a moderate policy in the highly tense Persian Gulf and West Asia regions in a bid to play a Switzerland-style role in its geographical area.
The Omani leaders opposed a proposal by Al Saud regime to transform the council into a union. They supported the British EU exit referendum. Ishaq Salim al-Syabi, the former Omani deputy parliament speaker hopes that one day each of the Persian Gulf Arab states can hold referendum to decide if they want to stay in the bloc. These remarks in fact express a reluctant view of one of the members of the (P) GCC on the goals for which the council was formed.
Oman's– and to some degree Kuwait’s– decline to support the council's stances on the one hand and exposure of rifts between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain on the Syrian crisis developments on the other hand pushed the analysts to express pessimism about the future of this cooperation bloc.
In these conditions, the Arab version of the EU is declining to come to birth for three main reasons: the first one, which can be the most significant of them, is lack of a morale for unity between these 6 members. Establishment of the (P)GCC was an Arab states' reaction to victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. At that time, the US was worried about the regional influences of a political Islam in Iran and saw a need for formation of an alliance like the Peninsula Shield Force, the military wing of the Cooperation Council. So, unlike the EU, forming this bloc was originated from foreign pressures rather than domestic need.
Perhaps it can be said that this issue caused other two factors of the (P)GCC's failure to appear. Its members since independence have been at odds over territorial issues. They do not recognize each other’s international borders and claim ownership of areas in their neighbours' territories. This sticking point needed settlement before forming any council to guarantee smother relations between these states.
At the time being, Saudi Arabia has border rifts with almost all of its neighbours. In addition to the known–but entombed– differences with Qatar over a variety of issues, the kingdom has disagreement with Kuwait over two oilfields of Al-Wafra and Al-Khafaji in a neutral territory, with the UAE over the Al-Shaybah oilfield and the Al-Adid border area, with Bahrain over Al-Sablah oilfield and each other’s share of production, and also with Oman over some regional issues. The important point is that disputes over huge energy reserves while the kingdom is feeling the pinch of an $81 billion budget deficit and is taking austerity measures can pave the way for a big struggle between the Arab states.
The third reason for the (P)GCC’s decline in working out a united policy is because of Saudi Arabian efforts to play role of a big brother. With reliance on its vast territories, huge oil and gas reserves, hosting the Islamic holy cities and sites, and US support for Riyadh to make it key proxy for Washington's policies in West Asia region, Saudi Arabia struggles to fashion other members of the bloc as its pawns and followers.
Lack of equality among the members and Riyadh's pressures on the others to keep them from following an independent foreign policy have drawn reactions of the ruling families of the member states. Although the Persian Gulf Arab states are devoid of an open political atmosphere, growing use of the social networks by their citizens make the rulers avoid being seen by their citizens as puppets of Saudi Arabia. In fact, the failure of Saudi policies in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon and getting stuck in Yemen quagmire proved to the Arab leaders that the Saudis cannot be good chiefs to protect the Arab security and image in the region.
So, Oman in past few years in an array of forms expressed interest to exit the Arab bloc. The Bahraini Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghanim bin Fahdul Al Buainain recently talked about possibility of forming the Persian Gulf Union with Oman not in the bloc. Without doubt, commenting on such an essential change in the structure of the (P)GCC needs green light from the Al Saud rulers.
The Bahraini official said the would-be union will go beyond the current cooperation levels. This comment confirms that after gradual loss of the Arab neighbours' support, tense relations with Egypt, and boom of sway of the Axis of Resistance, led by Iran, in the region, the kingdom aims at forming a camp with more unity and consistent policies in the face of Tehran.
But the reality is that due to deep political, economic, and military dependence of the (P)GCC’S members to the US policies and their vulnerability to global energy markets shocks, they cannot take a far more different pathway from the past. This means that any talk about upgrading from council to a union is a political bombast.
