Foreign Minister attends GCC- EU joint meeting

Brussels, Feb. 21 (BNA): The Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, participated in a joint meeting between the GCC and EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium. The GCC side was chaired by His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Chairman of the current session of the Ministerial Council of the GCC. The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell chaired the European side. The Secretary-General of the GCC, Dr. Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf also participated in the meeting. The ministers discussed Gulf-European relations in various economic, political, and security fields and the means to enhance cooperation and develop mutual interests. They also addressed the political and security developments in the region and the efforts being made to maintain its security and stability, and to reach political solutions to the ongoing conflicts, in addition to a number of regional and international issues of common interest. The meeting issued a joint statement in which the two sides underlined the remarkable progress in the strategic partnership between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union. The statement stressed the importance of continuing to strengthen relations between the two sides in light of regional challenges, in order to be a strong and effective basis for regional and international security and stability. It underscored that the ministers agreed on the importance of strengthening relations between the GCC and the EU in various fields, including political dialogue, regional security, counter-terrorism, trade, investment, energy, climate change, education, health, cyber security, and strengthening cooperation in international forums. The two sides endorsed the Joint Cooperation programme for the period 2022-2027 and stressed that this partnership contributes to deepening mutual trust, achieving common interests, and maintaining regional and global security. The Ministers stressed the importance of promoting joint action in combating climate change, protecting the environment, and developing renewable energies. They commended the commitments expressed by the GCC countries in this regard and seconded its participation in the UN Climate Change Conference COP26. The statement underscored that the Ministers exchanged views on issues of common interest, including the Middle East Peace Process, Yemen, Iran, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Afghanistan. They stressed the strategic importance of close coordination between the GCC and the EU in this regard. The statement underlined that the Ministers stressed the urgent need to improve the humanitarian situation in Yemen, agree on a ceasefire without preconditions, and reach a political resolution to the conflict through negotiations facilitated by the UN, based on the GCC Initiative and its implementation mechanism, the outcomes of Yemen’s National Dialogue Conference, and UN Security Council Resolution 2216. The Ministers expressed their condemnation in the strongest terms of the attacks launched by the Houthi militia using missiles and drones against the UAE and the KSA and expressed support for peaceful solutions for Yemen. The Ministers reiterated their concern at the lack of progress towards resolving the dispute between the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Iran over the three islands Abu Musa, Lesser Tunb and Greater Tunb. They reiterated their support for a peaceful settlement of this dispute in accordance with international law, either through direct negotiations between the parties or by referring the matter to the International Court of Justice. The ministers condemned the proliferation of ballistic missiles and drone systems used in hundreds of attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure The Ambassador of Bahrain to Belgium Abdullah bin Faisal bin Jabur Al-Doseri and the Minister’s accompanying delegation attended the meeting.