Al Attiyah, Al Zayani Hold Joint Press Conference

Doha, November 25 (QNA) - HE Foreign Minister Dr Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah expressed his full satisfaction at the fraternal dialogue that had prevailed throughout all the preparatory meetings held in Doha today on the agenda and draft resolutions which will be submitted to Their Majesties and Highnesses the GCC leaders at their upcoming summit in Doha from 9 to December.      HE the Foreign Minister, who is the chairman of the current session of the GCC Ministerial Council, said during a joint press conference with GCC Secretary General Dr Abdullatif Rashid Al Zayani held at the end of the 133rd Ministerial Council meeting to prepare for the 35th session the Supreme Council for GCC leaders in Doha that today's meetings had addressed political developments and security events in the international and regional arena, especially in the Arab region.     The Palestinian issue, the Syrian crisis and the situation in Iraq, Syria and Yemen topped the discussions, HE Dr Al Attiyah said, pointing out that the joint meeting between the GCC foreign ministers and their counterparts from Jordan and Morocco discussed all issues related to joint action plans for the period from 2013 to 2018.      Regarding their meeting with Yemeni counterpart, His Excellency said the meeting reviewed the situation in Yemen, adding that the GCC member states reiterated their support to Yemen and rejected any interference in its internal affairs.      He called on all political and social parties in Yemen to uphold the supreme interest of the country and discard sectarianism to achieve the aspirations of the Yemeni people, stressing that Yemen is an important country in the region. HE the Foreign Minister said that the GCC Ministerial Council meeting reviewed the views and issues presented by the Advisory Board, and discussed a number of topics of interest to the GCC countries, both at the economic, political and social levels. The meeting also considered the recommendations of the ministerial committees on economic affairs, and reviewed regional and international developments, particularly the situation in Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Palestine.      He stressed the position of the GCC that rejects religious and political sectarianism and terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.      Responding to a question about the existence of a dispute between the GCC states, he said that issue was solved at the last meeting in Riyadh on 16 November. "We have to focus on consolidating the spirit of sincere cooperation between our countries and move towards a strong and cohesive GCC entity," he said.       On economic cooperation between the GCC countries, Al Attiyah pointed that the GCC Secretary-General raised many issues related to economic cooperation, adding that GCC countries are working to complete many economic projects and other projects the will be implemented in the future and some under implementation. Regarding the position of the GCC countries on a number of issues in the Arab region, HE Dr Al Attiyah said that they have convergent views on many of these issues, saying "we are working hard with our brothers in the GCC countries to have a unified vision towards all issues, especially those related to GCC security or affecting them".      Responding to a question by Qatar News Agency (QNA) about negotiations between Iran and western countries over Tehran's nuclear issue, he said the GCC welcomed the initial agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group and the possibility of finding solutions to the issue of the peaceful use of Iran's nuclear program.     He went on to say: "We support the right of any country to use peaceful nuclear program, and we demand, at the same time, the removal of any nuclear weapon, not only from Iran, but from the entire Middle East". He hoped for an agreement to end the nuclear issue in the region.     Al-Attiyah stressed that GCC member states must be a party in any security arrangements in the region.        The P5+1 group is taking clear steps to make sure that Iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, he said For his part, GCC Secretary General Dr Abdullatif Rashid Al Zayani extended his sincere thanks and gratitude to the Emir, government and people of the State of Qatar for hosting the works of joint meetings today.       The GCC Secretary General also expressed his thanks and appreciation to HE Dr Al Attiyah, the chairman of the current session of the GCC Ministerial Council, for the good manner in which he conducted the joint meetings which ended with valuable results and will contribute to the march of the GCC joint action. Dr Al Zayani commended today's joint meetings, their outcomes and the good spirit that had prevailed in them, pointing out that the ministerial council meeting with the head and members of the Advisory Board discussed the views of the Board towards a number of issues.      On 133rd session of the Ministerial Council to prepare for the 35 session of the GCC leaders summit, to be held in Doha 9 to 10 December, Al Zayani explained that the ministerial meeting approved the summit's draft agenda, which includes several projects in various political, security and defense, economic and developmental fields to enhance the process of joint action and support GCC citizens.       Asked whether the summit will approve the unified GCC naval power project, he said that the GCC leaders are interested in all that can provide a safe and stable environment for the Gulf Cooperation Council and its citizens, pointing out that there are recommendations and studies on this issues and will be submitted to the summit for discussion.     In answer to a question about threats to the Gulf Cooperation Council, Al Zayani said that the competent authorities in the GCC countries analyze threats and risks, whether individually or collectively, faced by the GCC countries, adding that there is constant coordination among them to develop plans and programs in order to raise the readiness against any threat, especially in the terrorism field which requires concerted efforts and work at all levels. 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