Congress rolls out red carpet in Washington for jilted GCC
The Senate is getting ready to extend diplomatic courtesies to the Gulf Cooperation Council as it prepares to open a Washington office.
Congress is rolling out the red carpet for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as the six-nation coalition prepares to open shop in Washington.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will vote May 19 on a bipartisan bill extending diplomatic courtesies to the officials and staff of a potential GCC office. The legislation was requested by the Barack Obama administration, which endorsed the idea during the president's fence-mending visit to Riyadh last month.
"The legislation will allow for the establishment of a diplomatic office in Washington for the Gulf Cooperation Council that will facilitate continued security cooperation between the US and regional allies in the fight against [the Islamic State]," an aide to panel chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told Al-Monitor. The GCC is composed of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
The bill would extend the "privileges and immunities" granted under the International Organizations Immunities Act to the GCC "under such terms and conditions as the president shall determine." The 1945 law treats international organizations much like traditional diplomatic posts but doesn't grant its employees full diplomatic immunity.
