All articles tagged with #gulf cooperation council
The recent Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar has sparked anger among Gulf leaders, threatening regional alliances and U.S. support, with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar condemning the attack and questioning future diplomatic relations, amid concerns over Israel's actions and regional stability.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang emphasized China's commitment to expanding trade and deepening mutual trust with Southeast Asian and Gulf countries amid US-China tensions and global trade uncertainties, highlighting opportunities for strategic cooperation and regional integration.
OPEC+ has postponed its online meeting originally scheduled for December 1 to December 5, as several ministers will be attending the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Kuwait. The group is set to discuss whether to delay an increase in oil production.
Kuwait's ruling emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, has died at the age of 86 after a three-year reign focused on resolving internal political disputes. His half-brother, Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber, is expected to take over as Kuwait's ruler. Sheikh Nawaf's term was marked by domestic issues, including an overhaul of Kuwait's welfare system and political impasses. Kuwait, a key U.S. ally, has the world's sixth-largest known oil reserves and hosts thousands of American troops.
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani condemned the "genocide" in Gaza and accused the international community of turning their back on the Palestinian people. He called for a permanent ceasefire and criticized the "dual standards" of the international community. The Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Doha, attended by leaders of six Gulf countries and Turkey, is expected to focus on the war in Gaza, including the prospect of Qatar-brokered negotiations for a truce and discussions on reconstruction and post-war governance. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also called for accountability for Israel's "war crimes" and emphasized the need for a permanent ceasefire and uninterrupted humanitarian aid. The emir stressed that the struggle in Palestine is a national one and urged the UN Security Council to fulfill its responsibilities and help end the war.
Iran has summoned Russia's ambassador after Moscow endorsed a joint statement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) supporting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the territorial dispute over three Gulf islands claimed by both Iran and the UAE. The islands have been held by Iran since 1971, but the UAE has renewed its demands for their return. Iran rejected the statement, stating that the islands belong to Iran forever and that issuing such statements contradicts the friendly relations between Iran and its neighbors. This dispute has strained Iran's relationships with both Russia and China, as both countries have expressed support for the UAE's peaceful efforts to resolve the issue.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Saudi Arabia failed to secure any assurance from the Saudis on the normalization of Saudi-Israel relations. Blinken also had to concede some crucial ground on significant regional issues, including committing to work for the resolution of the conflict in Palestine and the creation of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders. The joint statement issued after his meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers indicated that the US may have conceded crucial geopolitical ground on other issues as well, including toning down its objections to Arab countries' normalizing their relations with Syria.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia next week to discuss US-Saudi strategic cooperation on regional and global issues, economic and security cooperation, and the growing cooperation with Gulf Cooperation Council partners. The agenda also includes continuing efforts to end the fighting in Yemen and the Israel normalization issue. Saudi Arabia is seeking several large concessions from the US in exchange for normalization, including a significant gesture for the Palestinians. Formal Saudi recognition of Israel would be a geopolitical shock to the region.
Arab foreign ministers from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria will meet in Jordan to discuss Syria's conflict and ending Damascus's diplomatic isolation in the region. The meeting is a continuation of the consultative meeting of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt, which was hosted by Saudi Arabia in mid-April. The effort to bring Syria back into the Arab fold and away from Iran has been led by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The 12-year war in Syria has claimed around half a million lives and nearly half of its population are now refugees or internally displaced.
Delegates from nine Arab nations, including six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, are meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss the possibility of normalizing relations with Syria and its return to the Arab League. Syria was suspended from the Arab League after a crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011. Saudi Arabia, which has long resisted normalization with Syria, said a new approach was needed with Damascus after a rapprochement with Iran, Syria’s key regional ally. Any recommendation to reinstate Syria in the 22-member Arab League is likely to draw protests from Western capitals.
Saudi Arabia is hosting a regional meeting with nine Arab nations to discuss ending Syria's isolation, following a surprise visit by Syria's foreign minister. The meeting aims to overcome Gulf differences over Syria and discuss the country's suspension from the Arab League since 2011. The talks come after Saudi Arabia and Iran's landmark deal to resume ties, and Qatar and Bahrain's agreement to re-establish relations. Analysts suggest Saudi Arabia is trying to calm the region to focus on domestic projects aimed at diversifying its energy-dependent economy.
Qatar and Bahrain have agreed to restore diplomatic ties and resolve a years-long dispute that began in 2017 when Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt imposed a diplomatic blockade on Qatar. The two sides met at the headquarters of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh to "enhance the Gulf unity and integration according to the GCC Charter". The restoration of ties comes amid other efforts to resolve regional disputes, including between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Bahrain and Qatar have agreed to restore diplomatic relations, with both nations issuing official statements following a meeting between their delegations at the headquarters of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh. Bahrain had been the last holdout of four Arab nations that imposed a boycott and blockade on Qatar in 2017, angered by Qatar's support for Islamist groups that rose to power in some countries following the 2011 Arab Spring protests. The blockade was lifted at the start of 2021, and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt have restored ties with Qatar since then.
The foreign ministers of the six countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemning Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for his recent comments about Palestinians. The letter urged Blinken to “respond to all measures and statements that target the Palestinian people.” The GCC Ministerial Council also condemned Israel for “repeated incursions by Israeli settlers into the courtyards of the Holy Al Aqsa Mosque”; settlement construction; military raids in the West Bank; expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem; and “attempts to change [the] legal character, demographic composition, and arrangements for Islamic holy places.” The letter is the latest sign that the much-touted Abraham Accords are starting to fray, and that other Arab countries have little appetite to join.