King Fahd's heir apparent Crown Prince Abdullah rang the alarm bells at the six Gulf Arab oil producers' annual summit. Pulling no punches, he said it was time to do something about low prices and call the difficult market conditions by their real name -- crisis.

"It is useful for us, governments and people, to remind ourselves that the boom days are gone and will not come back," he told monarchs, emirs and princes from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates meeting under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Appealing for an increased private sector role in Gulf economies, he said people in the region "must get used to a new way of life that is not based on total dependence on the state."

A text of his remarks at the closed session late on Monday was obtained by Reuters.

The Gulf Arab leaders are due to hold moretalks behind closed doors on Tuesday and expected to issue a final statement on Wednesday.

Prince Abdullah said the commitment of governments to meet the basic needs of their citizens was solid and permanent, "but we cannot overcome the economic crisis if the government's commitment was not accompanied by a trend to develop the talents of the individual to become more able to compete, produce and adapt to developments.

"The only way to survive the jungle of competing economic interests is to set up a strong, unified Gulf economy that can compete with the big economic blocks. We should always remember that the Gulf citizen has a right to wonder what is standing in the way of a common Gulf market..."

He suggested a maximum deadline of one year to complete work for a customs union as a step towards a common market.

The GCC countries have been trying to hammer out an accord on customs Union since 1983. But differences over some products, like steel and petrochemicals, have blocked agreement.

A customsaccord, leading eventually to a common market, is vital to forge free trade deals with other trading blocs, mainly the GCC's major trading partner, the European Union, and to open markets to cheap Gulf petrochemicals.

Prince Abdullah, whose role in the day-to-day running of the world's largest oil producer and exporter has increased since King Fahd fell ill three years ago, urged action to stop the slide in world oil prices now languishing around 22-year lows on an annual average basis.

The kingdom, which is the dominant force in the 11-member Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), played a key role in securing two rounds of production cuts by both Opec and non-Opec producers this year that have withdrawn 3.1 million barrels from daily market supply but failed to stop the rot.

But at Opec's latest meeting in Vienna last month, the cartel failed to do anything further to improve prices and fell to bickering among member states.

"Although we have taken serious measures...we should nothesitate in taking any other measure dictated by (our) interest if the previous ones did not lead to the desired results," the Saudi crown prince said.

His remarks lifted oil prices slightly to close in London on Monday at $10.28 per barrel.

There was expectation that oil ministers of the Gulf's largest Arab producers -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE -- who are all in Abu Dhabi would meet on the sidelines of the summit, but UAE officials could not confirm this.

Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, quoted by the offical Saudi Press Agency, said: "The crown prince was frank in his speech which is a basic pillar where one has to be honest with himself and with his citizens."

Veteran Gulf-watchers said Crown Prince Abdullah's remarks were unusually direct and candid at the annual summit, where speeches are usually long on rhetoric and short on decisions.

"He seems to be setting a new tone in the region," one analyst said. "The importance is that the other Gulf states will most definitelyfollow the Saudi lead."