Page 373 - UAE Truncal States

Chapter Nino

As might be expected the experts32 fully supported Qatar’s view,
and some unofficial support for that view was expressed by the
Government of Kuwait. Under the chairmanship of Shaikh Zayid,
Ruler of Abu Dhabi, the Council agreed to elect from among its
members a chairman for each session who was also to supervise the
implementation of the Council’s decisions for the entire period up to
the next session, which he should convene at the request of any of the
Council’s members.33 No permanent seat for the federal institutions
was agreed upon; instead the Supreme Council was to decide each
time on the venue for its next meeting. At the Abu Dhabi meeting the
Council also agreed to invite Dr 'Abdul Razaq Sanhuri, the Egyptian
author of the Kuwaiti constitution, to draft the Union constitution.
The committee responsible for liaison between the adviser and the
local authorities included some of the legal advisers in the Emirates
and some citizens.34
The most important step taken at this meeting was to implement
Decisions 8 and 9 of the Dubai Agreement by setting up a Tempor­
ary Union Council (sometimes translated as Provisional Federal
Council). With the exception of Bahrain, each Emirate nominated a
member of its ruling family to the Council, and a maximum of three
aides each.35 The duties of the Union Council were to review the
affairs of the State in general, to propose federal laws and supervise
their implementation, to prepare the draft budget, to set up
committees to assist in the performance of its duties, and to submit a
progress report every year. Shaikh Khallfah bin Hamad A1 Thani, the
Deputy Ruler of Qatar, was elected first chairman of the Temporary
Union Council. It was also agreed that this Council was to reach
agreement on the basis of a two-thirds majority, each Emirate having
one vote. The Temporary Union Council held its first meeting in Doha
on 8-9 September 1968, and decided to set up a number of
committees, including one to deal with the unification of currencies,
and one to draft the regulations for the Council’s functioning.30
The July meeting of the Supreme Council of Rulers had helped to
settle the differences which had developed between some members
since the February Agreement. In subsequent months the general
mood was constructive even though there were rumours that some
Rulers intended to ask Kuwait to join the Federation, to house its
capital and to counterbalance Bahrain.37 Most of the Rulers or their
deputies used the summer lull for visits to London, where they
invariably held talks with Foreign Office officials; some Rulers
visited Iran, while Qatar maintained close contact with Saudi

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