ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 29th Dec, 2020) As the world prepares to welcome 2021, leaving behind a year of extraordinary events, particularly the coronavirus pandemic, which threw life out of gear, politically, economically and socially, "the unity and cohesion of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states is needed more than ever," said a UAE daily.
In an editorial on Tuesday, Gulf news said, "King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, who will host the summit in the first week of January, has invited all the GCC leaders. The meeting will be held at a critical time as the world continues to fight off the coronavirus pandemic and try to deal with its shattering impact on the people and the economy.
"The GCC economies, that fare better than many other parts of the world according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), nevertheless suffered many setbacks during 2020 mainly due to the steep decline in the oil prices, caused by the prolonged lockdowns."
Therefore, the paper added, the GCC summit is important to bring about a new collective strategy to boost the economy and mitigate the risks in case the pandemic escalates into the new year.
With some troubling signs of new virus variants discovered in Europe and a few parts of Asia and Africa and new lockdowns planned by major countries, "it is vital the GCC comes up with a collective plan to shield the economies of its member states, especially in the energy sector.
"Secondly, the summit is expected to continue the recently initiated dialogue between the member states," read the editorial.
For the past four decades, the GCC succeeded in meeting tremendous regional and international challenges, such as the Iran-Iraq war, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the 11 September 2001 attacks, the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the so-called Arab Spring chaos and the coronavirus pandemic.
The upcoming summit is critical in underlining the unity of the block, which would enable its members to address the immediate and long-term challenges, the paper concluded.
