Manama: Strategic relations between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and international blocs will be on the agenda of the GCC foreign ministers when they meet in Bahrain on Wednesday.
The 125th meeting of the foreign ministers of the six members of the alliance set up in 1981 will also review a series of reports related to joint GCC action, Abdul Lateef Al Zayani, the GCC secretary-general, said.
“The foreign ministers’ meeting is to prepare the GCC summit to be hosted by Bahrain next month,” Al Zayani said.
“The GCC leaders will review the latest regional, Arab and international developments that are of interest to the GCC,” he said.
Meetings between the Gulf foreign ministers and their counterparts from Jordan and Morocco to discuss their strategic partnerships are also planned for Wednesday, the GCC secretary-general said.
The GCC has agreed to elevate the level of its relations and cooperation with the two Arab monarchies.
The GCC summit is held annually in a member country on a rotation basis.
The last meeting of the leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE was held in Riyadh. Saudi monarch Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud called the member states to move from the phase of cooperation to the phase of union.
The GCC countries welcomed the call, but differed on the pace towards full integration.
