Gargash: GCC strong despite Qatar row

The UAE said yesterday that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) remained valid despite a bitter row with Qatar.

“The main success of the council is in its economic aspects and the creation of a Gulf common market,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash tweeted.

“The political crisis will end when the cause behind it ends and that is Qatar’s support of extremism and its interference in the stability of the region.”

Last week, Qatar abruptly announced it was quitting Opec after 57 years in an apparent swipe at the oil-exporter bloc’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia.

The move has confirmed that rapproachment was unlikely at the GCC summit in Riyadh.