Tuesday, December 21 2004 21:45 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Manama (Bahrain): Faced with al-Qaeda threats and acts of terror in the region, six Gulf countries today (Dec 21, 2004) vowed to jointly fight terrorism as well as money laundering and agreed to exchange intelligence in this regard.

During their two-day summit in Manama, the rulers of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, forming the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), also said the whole of the Middle East should be made free of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).

"Terrorism is threatening the whole world and there is complete coordination among the member countries to support Saudi Arabia," which has been a target of suspected al-Qaeda attacks recently, Sheikh Mohammad bin Mubarak al-Khalifa, Foreign Minister of Bahrain, told reporters at the end of the summit.

The six countries also agreed to jointly fight money laundering and exchange intelligence, he said.

He said the GCC countries had already signed a security pact last year under which the member nations agreed to stand by each other in fighting terrorism.

The GCC Interior Ministers would deal with the security aspect, Sheikh Mohammad said.

The summit also discussed the Middle East peace process and situation in Iraq, he said.