Qatar’s surprise decision to leave OPEC, announced for maximum effect ahead of the organization’s meeting this week in Vienna, has inevitably raised questions about whether it might also quit the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Vast wealth and the promise of dramatic change make for cautious optimism concerning Saudi Arabia, the chief executive…
100 Views | the publication reaches you by | Saudi Arabia TodayThe explanations offered by Qatar for its withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries after 57 years could easily — indeed, more convincingly — be used to justify an exit from the GCC.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, Qatar’s former prime minister, has tweeted that OPEC “is only being used for purposes aimed at harming our national interest.”
(The blockade has been going on for 18 months and counting, and it stems from Saudi accusations that Qatar is destabilizing the region by cozying up to Iran, charges Doha contests.)
The inability of the GCC to resolve the dispute has underscored the council’s limitations. Qatar may now believe that it has nothing materially to gain from continued membership.
But here’s the twist: Exiting OPEC, a powerful cartel with a real impact on world affairs, will cost Qatar little, being a minor-league oil producer with little influence on the group’s decisions; leaving the GCC, an ineffectual grouping that has little impact on regional affairs, could cost it a lot.
If Qatar were to pull out, it would reinforce the Saudi-Emirati claim that the ruling family in Doha is undermining the Arab consensus.
Staying in the alliance allows Qatar to signal that it is committed to regional cooperation, putting the onus for ending the blockade on the Saudis and Emiratis.
CENTRO Olaya, the sixth by Rotana Hotel in Saudi Arabia and the third in Riyadh, was inaugurated on…
133 Views | the publication reaches you by | Saudi Arabia TodayDo you have information you want to reach our readers?
You can subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter and Google pages or use our RSS feed channel to always read the most important news about Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and the world.
Saudi Arabia’s Fawaz Alhokair Group plans to offer shares in its shopping malls business in Riyadh in the…
The Kingdom’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, senior scholars, ministers and a group of citizens called on…
Saudi King Salman on Thursday announced a new list of appointees to key positions in the country’s political…
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz passed away on Saturday, family members and Saudi media said on Twitter.…
Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa held talks with Saudi officials in Riyadh this week. His visit…
A photographic tale of the aspirations of four women and their determination to achieve their goals, each one…