The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) held their 31st annual summit in Abu Dhabi in early December. Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said was represented by Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud al-Said, a senior member of the royal family and deputy prime minister. It was no great surprise that the sultan did not attend in person as this year's gathering coincided with the end of a busy month of celebrations for Oman's 40th national day, and he has sent representatives to previous summits. High on the agenda was the planned 2,100-km GCC rail network. A feasibility report was submitted to policymakers for approval; the network could be completed by 2017. The summit approved a resolution allowing GCC companies to open branches in any of the six member states under equal terms with local firms. This will improve the joint investment climate, according to the GCC's assistant secretary-general for economic affairs, Mohammed bin Obaid al-Mazroui.

A closing statement was issued at the end of the summit. With regard to the security situation in Yemen, it said that the council hoped that a meeting of nations friendly to Yemen, to be hosted by Saudi Arabia in the first quarter of 2011, would lead to further support and improved security for the country. The statement also welcomed international efforts, especially by the P5+1 group (the permanent members of the UN security council plus Germany) to solve the Iranian nuclear crisis through peaceful means, but expressed regret over the continuing Iranian occupation of the islands of Greater and Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa, which are claimed by the UAE. As the UAE hosted the summit, the dispute over the islands clearly made its way onto the agenda.