Gulf unity crucial to take on aggressors, says Saudi
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud opened a Gulf Arab summit on Tuesday by calling for regional unity to confront Iran and secure energy supplies and maritime channels.
“Our region today is passing through circumstances and challenges that require concerted efforts to confront them as the Iranian regime continues its aggressive actions that threaten security and stability...,” he said.
In a televised speech, he also urged the global community to address Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, participated in the 40th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit.
Sheikh Mohammed and his accompanying delegation were received at the King Abdulaziz Air Base by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud along with several Saudi Sheikhs and senior officials.
Upon his descent from the aircraft, Sheikh Mohammed was greeted with a Guard of Honour.
Members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council share a common goal of stability in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping corridor that’s vital to their energy exports from the Arabian Gulf.
Attacks blamed on Iran this summer, including a stunning missile and drone attack on a major Saudi crude processing facility, have rattled the region. Tensions in the Gulf between Tehran and Washington have also escalated sharply in recent months.
Kuwait’s former Finance Minister Nayef Al Hajraf has been named GCC’S new Secretarygeneral.
Hajraf will succeed Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al Zayani, whose term expires next year. Hajraf will be the second Kuwaiti to assume the position since the formation of the GCC in 1981.
Qatar was represented at the Gulf summit by the country’s prime minister rather than the ruling emir.
King Salman, who greeted Gulf leaders as they arrived for the summit, was shown sharing a traditional coffee with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani minutes before the meeting began.
Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in his reply to the journalists, stated that the summit agenda was full of many decisions and important points.
On the Iranian file and the threats to the Gulf countries and how to confront them, he explained that the Iranian threat is a threat to everyone, and no one in the Gulf system disagrees with him, indicating that there is an understanding by the GCC countries on the importance of dealing with the threat and confronting it in the necessary ways.
He also reaffirmed that the unity of the Gulf system is stable and standing even if some things are marred, but it does not amount to reducing its strength and cohesion. The Minister of Foreign Affairs demanded that Iran change its behavior in attacking ships in the Gulf, supplying militias with weapons, financing terrorism and destabilizing countries.
In the Lebanese file, he emphasized the Kingdom’s interest in Lebanon’s stability, expressing hope that the Lebanese people will find a way to move forward in a way that guarantees peace and stability for their country.
Regarding negotiations on the Qatari crisis, the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that the efforts of the Emir of the State of Kuwait and the four countries continue to support these efforts and their success.
With regard to the Palestinian file, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah underscored the full support of the states of the GCC for the Palestinian right to obtain all rights under the Arab Peace Initiative.
For his part, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-zayani reasserted that the speed index of any meeting indicates its success, especially if it is similar to what was issued for today’s statement, expressing pride in the understanding that he touched on the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council states, based on the principle of brotherhood and status, putting the interest of the citizen in their eyes, noting that the final statement reiterated in its content the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, in the year 2015 AD, that is in the interest of the Gulf citizen.
‘Our region today is passing through circumstances and challenges that require concerted efforts to confront them as the Iranian regime continues its aggressive actions that threaten security and stability...,’ says King Salman