Special to WorldTribune.com

ABU DHABI — Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were expected to become the
first Gulf Cooperation Council states to merge amid the threat from
neighboring Iran.

The Eurasia Group reported that Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were working to
formally join together in an effort to bolster the Sunni regime in Manama.

Eurasia said the move could expand Saudi military deployment in Bahrain. “Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are likely to establish a mini-confederation,” Eurasia Group said on May 10.

Later, Bahraini Information Minister Samira Rajab confirmed that the confederation was on the GCC summit agenda. Ms. Rajab said the union would contain elements of the European Union.

“A union between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia is a progressive step in the integration journey between GCC countries,” Ms. Rajab said in an interview published in the Bahraini media. “It will be similar to the European Union, but not a copy of it.”

The merger proposal was reported ahead of a GCC summit in Riyad on May 14 to discuss integration of all six members. Diplomats said most GCC members fear that any consolidation would be dominated by Saudi Arabia, by far the largest country in the GCC.

“In Bahrain, we support setting up a Gulf union to protect us from the
threats facing the region on the political, economic, security and military
fronts,” Ms. Rajab said.

Manama has also called for the integration of GCC security forces.
One option proposed by Bahrain was the establishment of a unified police,
something already examined by GCC interior ministers.

“The great dream of the peoples of the region is to see the day when the
borders disappear with a union that creates one Gulf,” Bahraini Prime
Minister Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa said.

In December 2011, Saudi King Abdullah called for a GCC merger. Diplomats
two panels were established to promote a unified defense and foreign policy
by GCC members.

“The leaders will be briefed on the progress made in the GCC
metamorphosis from cooperation to union in all domains of cooperation since
the 32nd GCC summit, with emphasis on King Abdullah’s initiative in this
regard,” GCC secretary-general Abdul Latif Al Zayani said on May 12.

  Bahrain plan merger culminating in Gulf confederation to counter Iran, Eurasia Group, Gulf Cooperation Council, Information Minister Samira Rajab, Saudi, Saudi King Abdullah, Sunnin regime in Manama