Ahead of GCC Meeting: Qatar Hints at Gulf Heal

Ahead of Gulf Countries Council (GCC), Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani announced that "some progress" has been made during talks with Saudi Arabia aimed at ending the Gulf crisis.

In June 2017, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, and Bahrain severed their diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting extremist groups and having close relations with Iran .. It was accompanied by severing economic ties, including closing land borders and sea routes, preventing the use of the airspace and imposing restrictions on the movement of Qataris.

During a speech he delivered at the "Mediterranean Dialogues Forum" held in Rome, the Qatari minister said: "There have been discussions under way between us and the Saudis in particular, and we have some hopes that these discussions will lead to the end of the crisis," pointing to a role for Kuwaiti mediation in giving a push to the talks.

Earlier, the Saudi monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, invited the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to the Gulf Cooperation Council summit, to be held on Tuesday in Riyadh, while this coincided with the participation of Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Bahrain in the Gulf Football Cup in Diameter.

In Riyadh, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Abdellatif Al Zayani, said that the Ministerial Council will hold its preparatory meeting for the Gulf Summit in the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Riyadh tomorrow, adding that the leaders will discuss a number of important issues to enhance cooperation and integration among member states in various political, defense, security and economic fields.

The Council, in addition, will discuss regional and international political developments and the security situation in the region and its implications for the security and stability of the GCC countries.

Al-Zayani expressed his confidence that "the fortieth summit of leaders of the GCC countries will come out with constructive decisions that enhance the Gulf cohesion, and deepen the interdependence, cooperation and complementarity among the member states."