GCC foreign ministers meet to discuss summits

RIYADH: Foreign ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council ( GCC) will meet Wednesday in Riyadh to discuss the GCC-US Summit and Arab- Islamic-US Summit, scheduled for Sunday, which will also be attended by US President Donald Trump.

Ahmed Al-Kaabi, spokesman of the GCC General Secretariat, said: “GCC foreign ministers will hold their 143rd session of the ministerial council here on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid Al-Khalifa, chairman of the current session.”

GCC Secretary- General Abdullatif Al-Zayani, in a statement provided to Arab News by the General Secretariat, said: “The foreign ministers will explore the on-going preparations for the consultative meeting of the GCC leaders, scheduled for Riyadh, in addition to the US-GCC Summit and Arab-Islamic-US Summit to be held in Riyadh on Sunday during the upcoming visit of US President Donald Trump to the Kingdom.”

He said the ministers will also discuss reports on the implementation of decisions of the GCC Supreme Council, reports submitted by the ministerial committees and the GCC General Secretariat, and topics related to strategic dialogue between the GCC, other countries and international blocs.

The ministers will also discuss the latest regional and international developments, and ways to enhance global efforts against terrorism, he added.

Trump, in his first overseas trip as president, will arrive in the Kingdom this weekend, where he will meet leaders from Gulf, Arab and other Muslim countries to discuss issues of strategic importance, including efforts to defeat terrorism.