GCC foreign ministers set to hold meeting in Riyadh

Forum in Saudi capital part of scheduled meetings held every three months

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (C) and his Gulf counterparts attending last year's GCC meeting in Riyadh. AFP

The foreign ministers of the Gulf Co-operation Council countries on Wednesday will hold their ordinary meeting at the GCC Secretariat in Riyadh where they will discuss regional developments.

The meeting is one of a series that are held every three months, in which Gulf politicians discuss the output of ministerial committees that are established after an annual summit.

A Secretariat statement said: “The meeting, which is held every three months, usually discusses the results of the ministerial committees in various sectors such as health, education and other files concerned with developing and strengthening the GCC path."

A statement after the meetings is expected to touch upon the recent rapprochement deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

In March they announced a deal to re-establish ties, ending a hiatus since 2016, when relations broke down after the Saudi execution of a prominent Shiite cleric and ensuing attacks on the kingdom's diplomatic buildings in Iran.

Foreign ministers from GCC countries and Russia gather in Riyadh last year. AP

The agreement was the result of years of talks brokered in Iraq and China.

The foreign minsters’ meeting in Riyadh will also be the first to be hosted by the newly appointed GCC Secretary General Jasem Al Budaiwi.

Recent efforts to bring back Syria into the Arab fold are also expected on the agenda. The Arab League suspended Syria's membership after the outbreak of the civil war, and most countries severed ties with Damascus, too.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan this month said consensus was building in the Arab world that isolating Syria was not working and that dialogue with Damascus was needed, particularly to address its humanitarian situation, though he said it was "too early to discuss" its return.

President Sheikh Mohamed met Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, where the two leaders discussed stability in the Middle East.

It was Mr Al Assad's second visit to Abu Dhabi last year.

The GCC states and China in December agreed on a four-year joint plan of action to enhance their strategic partnership, according to the final communique that concluded the council’s 43rd annual meeting.

The statement was the result of the inaugural China-GCC summit, which took place in Riyadh in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji received Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, upon his arrival at King Khalid International Airport, Saudi's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported on Wednesday afternoon.

The reception was attended by the Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, Mr. Jassim Muhammad Al Budaiwi.

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal met his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah, on the sidelines of the meeting. They reviewed the "strong relations" between the two brotherly countries, MoFA reported, and further ways to support and develop them in various fields. They also discussed ongoing developments in the region and internationally.