Riyadh hosts the 153rd GCC Foreign Ministers' Summit
The Saudi capital of Riyadh on Wednesday hosted two high-level meetings between the Foreign Ministers of several Middle Eastern and Central Asian powers. On the one hand, the Foreign Ministers of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman - as well as Saudi Arabia itself - met within the framework of the 153rd summit of Foreign Ministers of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC).
The meeting, chaired by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, followed on from the previous summit held in June, where issues such as the joint fight against terrorism in the region, the Israeli-Palestinian cause and the war in Yemen were discussed. Thus, the memorandums and reports drafted during the 42nd meeting in Riyadh were at the heart of the talks on regional positioning in the bloc's strategic relations. This was worked on in terms of monitoring and control.
The fight against terrorism became one of the central points. "The Council endorsed the GCC's firm positions on terrorism, and its rejection of all forms of violence and extremism, as well as the commitment of member states to continue their efforts within the international coalition to combat the ISIS terrorist organisation, and international and regional efforts against all extremist terrorist organisations to exhaust their sources of funding," a joint communiqué issued at the end of the session stated.
Furthermore, regarding the regional hostility of most countries towards Iranian expansion, the communiqué reaffirmed "the strong positions of the Cooperation Council, rejecting Iran's occupation of the three UAE islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa. Stressing support for the sovereignty of the UAE over its three islands, its territorial waters, airspace, continental shelf and exclusive economic zone, as an indivisible part of the territory of the UAE. Whereas any practice or action carried out by Iran on the three islands is null and void'. It also condemned the Persian Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, and called for respect for the principles of good neighbourliness, respect for national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs promulgated by the United Nations.
Riyadh also hosted the first summit between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Central Asian countries at the level of Foreign Ministers. According to GCC Secretary General Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf, the meeting's main purpose was to serve as a meeting place for strategic dialogue, which will enable the establishment of a new stage of cooperation between the two regions in broader areas, and will help to strengthen and consolidate the Arab bloc, both regionally and internationally.
Following his tour of Central Asian countries during the first week of August, Falah Al-Hajraf, who witnessed the signing of several memoranda of understanding, stressed the need to create a common institutional framework for the improvement of mutual relations in the political, economic and cultural fields.
After a welcome tour of various landmarks in the historic district of Turaif - such as the Diriyah Museum, the Imam Muhammad bin Saud Mosque and the Arabian Horse Museum - the diverse group of Central Asian and Middle Eastern countries also discussed many other issues, such as the Iraqi political crisis, the war in Syria, the death of ISIS and al-Qaeda leaders Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi and Ayman al-Zawahiri, respectively, and instability in countries such as Lebanon, Libya and Sudan.
Finally, and with the aim of working on "global economic recovery and addressing the complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the recovery of supply chains, transport and communications, food security, energy security and water security and the development of green energy", the attending countries agreed to adopt "the joint action plan for strategic dialogue and cooperation for the period 2023-2027, which includes political and security dialogue, economic and investment cooperation, strengthening communication between peoples, and the establishment of effective partnerships between the business sector".