From left, Fahd Bin Mahmoud Al-Saeed, Omani Deputy Premier, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Kuwaiti Emir, Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Qatar’s Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Saudi Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and The GCC Secretary General, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani pose for a photograph during a Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014. AP
DOHA, Qatar — Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah says Gulf countries’ national development programs are being affected by the slide in oil prices, which have hit the oil-producing and exporting countries’ incomes.
Al-Sabah was speaking at the annual summit of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council in the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday, the same day that the price of Brent crude oil hit a five-year low of $65. That represents a 43 percent drop since the summer.
An International Monetary Fund report on Kuwait also released Tuesday said that a decline in oil prices should not trigger immediate spending cuts, but that it places more urgency on implementing the government’s medium-term consolidation plans to contain current spending levels.
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