GCC foreign ministers to meet in Riyadh

RIYADH: The foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will hold a meeting of the Ministerial Council here on Thursday to discuss key regional issues, as well as attend the inauguration of the Prince Saud Al-Faisal Conference Center at the GCC headquarters.

Ahmed Al-Kaabi, spokesman of the GCC General Secretariat, told Arab News on Tuesday that the meeting will be chaired by Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa.

GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif Al-Zayani, who will attend the meeting, said it will discuss issues and reports regarding decisions taken by the supreme council, and implementation of resolutions adopted by previous GCC summits.

The meeting “will discuss reports submitted by the ministerial committees and the GCC secretariat, topics related to strategic dialogue between the GCC countries and other international blocs, as well as the latest regional and international developments and means of bolstering international efforts in fighting terrorism,” Al- Zayani said.

He added that the meeting will also tackle a wide array of key issues of mutual interest, including King Salman’s vision on bolstering joint Gulf action, which GCC leaders earlier adopted.

The vision aims to consolidate GCC economic, political, social, military and security cooperation, and to strengthen the council’s international role.

It also emphasizes the need to redouble efforts to improve the performance of GCC departments to achieve the aspirations of the peoples of member states.