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Doha to Host Gulf-Türkiye, Gulf-Yemen Ministerial Meetings Sunday

The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council receiving the Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs (GCC)
The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council receiving the Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs (GCC)
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Doha to Host Gulf-Türkiye, Gulf-Yemen Ministerial Meetings Sunday

The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council receiving the Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs (GCC)
The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council receiving the Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs (GCC)

The Qatari capital, Doha, is poised to host two ministerial meetings—one Gulf-Turkish and the other Gulf-Yemeni—aimed at deliberating on bilateral relations between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Türkiye, and Yemen, seeking to bolster and elevate them.
The agenda also includes discussions on regional and international issues of mutual concern, particularly the ongoing conflict in Gaza and Rafah, along with its political, security, and humanitarian developments.
According to the GCC, its Secretary-General, Jasim Al-Budaiwi, met on Thursday with Shaya Mohsin Al-Zindani, the Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs, underscoring the significance of the joint ministerial meeting of foreign ministers from GCC countries and Yemen.
The Secretary-General reiterated the GCC’s full support, as articulated in the statement of the Supreme Council of the GCC in its 44th session, for the Presidential Leadership Council headed by Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi, and the supporting entities, to achieve security and stability in Yemen.
This reaffirms the GCC’s backing for efforts aimed at reaching a comprehensive political solution to the Yemeni crisis, in accordance with the three references: the Gulf Initiative and its executive mechanism, the outcomes of the Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference, and UN Security Council Resolution 2216, to achieve security and stability in Yemen.
Al-Budaiwi also discussed with the Turkish Ambassador to Riyadh, Emrullah İsler, on Wednesday, the key preparations for the upcoming Sixth High-Level Strategic Dialogue of Foreign Ministers of GCC countries and Türkiye, scheduled to take place next Sunday in Doha.
The strategic dialogue meetings commenced in September 2008 in the western Saudi province of Jeddah, affirming the ministers’ shared desire to enhance and diversify these close relations across all fields.
The fifth meeting took place in October 2016 at the headquarters of the Gulf Cooperation Council Secretariat General in Riyadh. During this meeting, ministers expressed their satisfaction with the fifth round of the strategic dialogue, aiming to make progress on shared priorities.

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Gulf

Gulf-EU Summit Calls for ‘Immediate Ceasefire’ in Gaza, Lebanon

European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stand as they pose for a family photo during the joint European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stand as they pose for a family photo during the joint European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
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Gulf-EU Summit Calls for ‘Immediate Ceasefire’ in Gaza, Lebanon

European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stand as they pose for a family photo during the joint European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stand as they pose for a family photo during the joint European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron

The leaders of the European Union and six Gulf nations held an inaugural summit Wednesday, encompassing everything from visas and trade to the situation in the Middle East.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in Brussels for the summit.

A joint statement said the leaders committed to the EU-GCC Strategic Partnership and pledged to elevate it to the next level. “We agree to build our Strategic Partnership, based on mutual respect and trust, for the benefit of the people of our regions and beyond,” it said.

On Gaza, the EU and Gulf leaders called for “an immediate, full and complete ceasefire, the release of hostages, the exchange of the Palestinian prisoners as well as immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access to civilian population, including the safe and effective distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale throughout the Gaza strip to all Palestinian civilians who need it.”

They also reaffirmed their “unwavering commitment to the realization of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination through the Two-State solution where Israel and Palestine live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders, along the 1967 lines, consistent with international law and relevant UN resolutions and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.”

The leaders expressed deep concern over the Israeli military operations in the West Bank, and called for their immediate end. They also strongly condemned the ongoing extremist settler violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

On Lebanon, they called for an “immediate ceasefire” and stressed the need to implement Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls on Hezbollah to withdraw to the north of Litani river.

They condemned all attacks against UN missions and expressed particularly “grave concerns” regarding the recent Israeli attacks against peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

At the summit, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said: “Reviving the peace process in the Middle East to fulfil the Palestinian people's aspirations for establishing an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the 1967 borders, remains the sole path to achieving security and stability in the region.”

"While we express our deep sorrow and frustration over the atrocities inflicted upon our Palestinian brothers and sisters, we reaffirm the GCC's long-standing position advocating for an immediate and complete cessation of hostilities and the unrestricted entry of humanitarian relief teams” to the Gaza Strip.

“We categorically reject the forced displacement of civilians in Gaza and stress the need to adhere to international law and humanitarian law. This mandates that we take necessary measures to advance collective efforts to halt this war and pressure Israel to permit humanitarian aid to reach the Palestinian people," Albudaiwi said.

He added that the failure to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza has led to escalating tensions in Palestinian territories and a spillover of conflict into Lebanon.

On Iran, the summit’s statement called on the country “to pursue regional de-escalation” and said: "We share a clear determination that Iran must never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon.”

The leaders also demanded that the Iran-backed “Houthis halt attacks against vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, release crew and avoid any further escalatory measures that threaten global security and stability.”