“The GCC foreign ministers discussed all aspects of the deal and ways to ensure political transition in that fragile nation,” said a statement released by the GCC General Secretariat here following a GCC ministerial meeting on Sunday. Sultan Al-Barakani, assistant secretary-general to Yemen’s ruling General People Congress (GPC) party said Sunday the president was still committed to the GCC deal, suggesting that Sanaa would be a better venue for the signing ceremony.
“There is no pressure from the Gulf states or Arab countries to avoid the trial of former president and we don’t accept any pressure,” said the Egyptian premier. Sharaf, who has earned a reputation for his opposition to corruption and concern for workers’ rights, said: “No one is above the law in Egypt.” He said Egypt and the Gulf states share common views on a range of important regional and international issues.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is exerting utmost efforts to secure the release of Saeed Al-Malki, second secretary at the embassy in the Yemeni capital,” said Osama Nugali, a ministry spokesman, here Sunday. “The Saudi government is following the case closely, and with great concern.”
The latest proposal calls for the resignation of the president within 30 days from the date of its acceptance. It guarantees that Saleh will not be prosecuted and a new government in Sanaa will be installed within 90 days from the date of Saleh’s departure.
The current recruitment trends in the Middle East also show that most employers favor recruiting candidates with MBA qualifications than people with mere undergraduate degrees. “Another interesting aspect is employers are willing to ungrudgingly pay a lot more to candidates with MBA degrees,” said Mohammed Al-Madi, a Saudi banker who works for Saudi Investment Bank here. Al-Madi said that an MBA degree is labeled as the most preferred qualification by many huge business organizations in the Gulf region also.
“Based on the supply-and-demand fundamentals, crude oil prices should not be this high,” said Al-Naimi following talks with Maxime Verhagen, Dutch deputy premier and minister of economic affairs.
The new ambitious plan will help develop national and regional capacities to fight the disease and ensure closer coordination among member states of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to increase measures for prevention, treatment and care. After launching the so-called “Saudi initiative to combat AIDS in GCC countries,” Minister of Health Abdullah Al-Rabeeah said the project calls for an intensified collaborative approach as the disease poses a real threat to the region’s long-term growth.
Yemeni opposition leaders arrive in Riyadh for talks with GCC foreign ministers Foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and a delegation of top opposition leaders from Yemen met here Sunday night to discuss ways and means to defuse the worsening political crisis in Yemen. In the meeting, the GCC and Yemeni leaders discussed a proposal for an early departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to secure peace and an end to political unrest in the country. They also reviewed a proposal that calls for a timetable for the president to leave office.
RIYADH: Foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) unanimously pledged all support to Yemen on Sunday and called on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to hand over power to his vice president and allow the opposition to lead a transitional government.
The agreement was signed in the presence of TVTC Gov. Ali Bin Nasser Al-Ghafis who said that the Kingdom was committed to develop the public-private partnership initiative to provide technology training and tools for young Saudi boys and girls. Al-Ghafis said: “This was one of the major MoUs signed by the TVTC with private organizations, which will go a long way in providing necessary skills to Saudis to work in automobile sector.”