Middle East News
Jordan to start talks on admission to Gulf council in September
Aug 20, 2011, 16:45 GMT
Amman - The first round of talks for Jordan's admission to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) would be held between September 10 and 15, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said Saturday.
Judeh is to have a first meeting with his GCC counterparts in Saudi Arabia, which is aimed at outlining a roadmap for Jordan's admission to the oil-rich bloc, he told a private sector panel set up to follow the issue.
In May, GCC leaders decided at a meeting in Riyadh to accept Jordan as a new member. The council comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman.
Media reports said the move was dictated by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt and by demonstrations in other Arab countries, including Jordan and Bahrain.
But Judeh said that Jordan had applied for GCC membership a long time back and that the response of the bloc's leaders 'had nothing to do with certain events.'
Both Jordan and the GCC countries 'stand to benefit' from Amman's admission to the group, he said.
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