Gulf Arab countries plan to fund a five-year development aid programme for Morocco and Jordan, aspiring members of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) political and economic bloc, and the amount will be set in December, the GCC's chief said on Sunday.
Oil-exporting Gulf monarchies are seeking closer ties with Arab counterparts outside the Gulf to help contain pro-democracy unrest that is buffeting autocratic ruling elites throughout the Arab world, analysts say.
The six members of the GCC - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain - said in May they would consider a request by the two Arab monarchies to join, but as yet few practical steps have been taken.
"There is a call for creating an economic development programme for the two brotherly countries Jordan and Morocco," GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif al-Zayani said after a Gulf foreign ministers meeting in Jeddah.
Within the bloc, the richer Gulf countries have offered $10 billion each in development funds to Bahrain and Oman, where protesters took to the streets this year demanding reforms.
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