GCC Summit in Jeddah Tackles Regional Developments

The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) on Tuesday held a consultative summit in the port city of Jeddah, Saudi state media reported, amid regional challenges stemming from the war in Iran.

The summit, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, discussed "a number of topics and issues related to regional and international developments and the coordination of efforts regarding them," Saudi Press Agency reported. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan also attended the meeting.

The UAE Foreign Ministry said that Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed participated in the summit on behalf of the UAE President. He was received by his Saudi counterpart.

Earlier in the day, Saudi state media reported the arrivals of Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al Sabah, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim, and Bahrain's King Hamad in Jeddah. It added that they were greeted by Prince Mohammed.

Kuwait's state news agency Kuna described the meeting as an "exceptional summit" but no further details were provided.

The summit comes after Gulf countries were targeted by Iran in retaliatory strikes following US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic on February 28. Iran targeted energy and civilian infrastructure in the Gulf.

On Monday, Dr. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, emphasized the need to restore "Gulf unity and solidarity," which he said was "not at the level required by the challenges and events of today."

"We cannot allow anyone outside the Gulf region to dictate our security priorities. These missiles will not be aimed at them tomorrow — they will be aimed at us," Dr. Gargash stated during the Gulf Creators event in Dubai.

The GCC, a political and economic alliance of six Arab states in the region, was created to coordinate policies and strengthen regional stability. Established in 1981 amid security concerns following the Iranian revolution and the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War, its members include the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.

This article was previously published on saudimoments. To see the original article, click here