Gulf Cooperation Council’s ministers of foreign affairs, interior and defense held a meeting in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Thursday to support cooperation and coordination between the council’s member states and to deepen integration on different security, political, defensive and military levels.
The meeting was headed by Saudi Crown Prince, Prince Nayef Bin Abdel Aziz, who serves as the interior minister of his country. He delivered the opening speech before the meeting, stressing the importance of cooperation between the member states of the council to face the common threats.
The Saudi crown prince stressed that Gulf Cooperation Council managed to achieve notable accomplishments during the recent years despite economic, security and political challenges. He stressed that the major challenge facing any country during the current period is to keep its national unity away from any foreign threats. He stressed the need for deepening relations to overcome the common challenges.
Emirati Interior Minister Seif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan called for more cooperative steps between the member states of Gulf Cooperation Council during the coming period to confront the different threats on security, political and military level. He praised the efforts exerted by the soldiers working to eliminate insurgency witnessed in Yemen in the framework of the Arab Coalition, saying that they work to protect the security of the Gulf region as whole.
However, the Iranian threat to the security of the region was the major point of the speech delivered by Bahraini Interior Minister, Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, as he warned of the repercussions of the Iranian role on the security of the region. He stressed that the Iranian challenge will not be confronted without a unified vision.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah expressed his appreciation for the Gulf Cooperation Council for holding the meeting during the current critical time, stressing the importance of resuming the discussion of the political and security issues to confront the different challenges, including the terrorist threat.