Gulf FMs meet in Bahrain to prepare for GCC summit

By Ahmed al-Masri

MANAMA

Foreign ministers from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states met in Bahraini capital Manama on Thursday to prepare for a GCC summit slated for December.

Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa presided over the meeting of the GCC’s ministerial council to discuss preparations for the 37th GCC Summit, which will be held next month in Bahrain.

GCC FMs used the occasion to discuss recent international and regional developments, including ongoing crises in Syria, Libya and Iraq and the international fight against terrorism.

Following Thursday’s preparatory meeting, GCC FMs met with their Yemeni counterpart, Abdulmalik al-Mekhlafi, with whom they discussed the ongoing conflict in war-torn Yemen.

Along with Bahrain, the GCC includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. Impoverished Yemen is not a member of the six-nation council.