From: mtaghavi@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Amir Taghavi)
Subject: Border dispute agreement reached on eve of Gulf summit 
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 23:57:52 GMT


	ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (UPI) -- Qatar and Saudi Arabia
reached an agreement on a border dispute overshadowing an annual summit
of Persian Gulf countries, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hammad Al
Thani will attend the meeting, news reports said Sunday.
	Sheikh Al Thani was expected to leave Doha on Monday to attend the
meeting in Abu Dhabi, the Qatari news agency said.
	The deal between the tiny country and Saudi Arabia was signed by the
foreign ministers of the two Gulf member states of the Gulf Cooperation
Council on the eve of the organization's annual summit, state-run Abu
Dhabi television reported.
	The two parties agreed to attach a map, signed by government
representatives from both countries, which delineates the final
demarcation of the common borders and that it will be binding to both
parties.
	Another provision of the aggreement calls for the formation of a
Saudi-Qatari committee which will supervise the implementation of a
border agreement signed in 1965. This committee will post the border
marks in accordance to with the attached map, and a special team of
topographers will be contracted for this task. The committee will draw a
final map of the common borders within a year.
	The agreement was signed in the presence of the Egyptian Foreign
Minister Amr Moussa and leaders of the three countries, the television
station said in an unscheduled bulletin.
	The border dispute had overshadowed the summit, said the council's
Secretary-General Abdullah Bisahra.
	Qatar has boycotted all GCC meetings and events since it accused the
Saudis of sending troops across their common borders in September to
occupy the Al Khofus border post and killing two of its troops. Riyadh
denied the charges.
	The improvement in relations between the two countries comes one day
after Egypitian President Hosni Mubarak succeeded in bringing the Saudi
and Qatar leaders together.
	After two days of shuttling between the two countries, Mubarak flew
Saturday with Sheikh Al Thani to the Saudi city of Madina and held
tripartite talks with King Fahd.
	There were reports and speculations here that the two Gulf leaders
will fly together Monday to Abu Dhabi to underscore reconciliation and
their commitment to the economic and military alliance the six states
had established 11 years ago.
	According to diplomats in Cairo, one of the reasons the Egyptian
leader zealously sought the reconciliation was to prevent the
fundamentalist Islamic regime in Iran from ``fishing in troubled waters''
and establishing a foothold in the area.
	Mubarak accused Tehran of enciting Muslim extremism and supporting
militant groups in his country and elsewhere.
	Qatar's adamant boycotts of GCC events and concern about Iranian
involvement with its regional partners may have alarmed everyone and
created a considerable momentum leading to the latest warming in
relations.
	Qatar, which has complained that Riyadh failed to observe their
border agreement of 1965, is reported to have cooperated with Mubarak's
peace mission after he gave Sheikh Al Thani his personal assurances that
the dispute will be solved soon.
	The three countries agreed to form a joint committee that will hammer
out differences and oversee the implementation of the 27-year-old
agreement.
	The foreign ministers of all the GCC countries but Qatar concluded
two days of talks in Abu Dhabi Saturday dealing with final preparations
for the summit.
	One delegate confirmed to United Press Internationl that the dispute
between UAE and Iran over the three strategic Persian Gulf islands of
Abu Musa, Greater Tonb and Lesser Tonb would be on the agenda.
	The Gulf leaders are also expected to discuss how security can been
ensured in the region and Iran's growing military arsenal.
	One proposal being considered is the creation of a 100,000-strong
Gulf Army. The GCC's Peninsula Shield, a 10,000-strong joint defense
force, stood idle when the Iraqi army overran Kuwait.
	The GCC leaders are also slated to discuss their countries' ambitious
plan to create a common market, including a unified tariff system. A
review of the status of the group's negotiations with the European
Community, its main trading partner, is also on the agenda.


"Copyright 1992 by <UPI/Newsbytes>
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