Abu Dhabi, 20 Dec.04 (WAM) -- President H.H Sheikh Khalifabin Zayed AI Nahyan maintains a strategic vision of theregion as strategic key to the international peace andsecurity, according to Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan,Deputy Prime Minister.

He believes, quite correctly, that this region whichis part and parcel of the greater Arab world, is a strategicarea upon which global stability and security is largelydependent. It is from this perspective that SheikhKhalifa views the formation of the Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC) as a landmark event underpinning the aspirations ofthe people of the region, said Sheikh Sultan in a forewordon a documentary book titled ''Statments by President H.H.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan about the GCC'', issuedby Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Information Affairs,to mark the Manama summit.

''One of the most remarkable hallmarks of this centuryis the tendency within regional or global entities to mergeinto larger political, economic or security blocs as themode for survival in a rapidly changing world,'' he said.

The Gulf region, he added, is no exception. Althoughthe countries of the region have had long-standing ties,augmented by shared historical and socio-cultural values,yet they have sought an even greater union as means to sustaining prosperity and progress.

The leaders of the region have always cherished the dreamof unity, which they believed would provide them with anadditional weight in economic, military and political terms.

''Needless to say, the late Sheikh Zayed bin SultanAl Nahyan was a strong proponent of unity of the Gulf region.

In his own words he said in more than one occasion:"I strongly believe that the Gulf region is one entity andone area. Unity is strength. It is my hope that we wouldbe able to forge a greater union or federation across theGulf, not just in the UAE. The success of our federationin the UAE is a cause for hope. Unity is a convictionand a belief. We know that unity is strength and disunityis weakness".

''This forthright vision of Sheikh Zayed, SheikhSultan stated, had proved that he was not only a visionaryleader but also well ahead of his time.

"Since the first summit in Abu Dhabi in 1981 in whichthe birth of the GCC was proclaimed, we have felt that wehave entered a new era, an era of joint action. An era wheresecurity and unity of countries of the region will be considerablyaugmented", Sheikh Khalifa once remarked.

He maintains that the formation of the GCC was a manifestationof the dreams of the people of the region for unity, progressand prosperity. These aspirations were correctly analyzedand translated into concrete realities on the ground. Thespontaneous desire of the GCC leaders for unity was somethingthat they imbibed from their ancestors, a vision which envisagedone region one people since times immemorial.

Sheikh Khalifa believes that the success that the GCCleaders have made in uniting the region could be emulatedby the rest of the Arab world.

Indeed, it can be a nucleolus for a larger Arab unity.

The GCC leaders laid down the foundation of the organizationso concretely that it was easy to make one success afterthe other.

These successes have won the GCC a respect and admirationfrom the rest of the world.

It is hoped that these remarks, which were made on numerousoccasions, will provide the reader with a comprehensiveview about the efforts of the UAE to reinforce the unityof the GCC, Sheikh Sultan concluded.

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