UPDATE: UAE, Saudi and Bahrain ambassadors to return to Doha
RIYADH // Senior Gulf leaders gathered in Riyadh on Sunday for a previously unannounced summit.
The UAE delegation was led by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, and Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, the emir of Kuwait, also attended the meeting.
The visitors were greeted by Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince, Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the GCC secretary general Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.
The GCC leaders had been expected to hold a meeting before their annual summit next month in Doha in an effort to overcome internal differences between Qatar and the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, who withdrew their ambassadors from Doha in March.
A GCC foreign ministers’ meeting scheduled on November 10 to prepare for the summit was postponed.
Kuwait’s parliamentary parliament speaker Marzouq Al Ghanem voiced optimism on the efforts by Sheikh Sabah, who has been leading a mediation effort, to end the differences.
“We hope the Riyadh meeting comes to a happy ending that strengthens the GCC,” he said.
* Agence France-Presse
UPDATE: UAE, Saudi and Bahrain ambassadors to return to Doha
