Page 373 - UAE Truncal States
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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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