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Riyadh Hosts 42nd GCC Summit to Face Challenges, Seize Opportunities

Leaders and heads of delegations of Gulf countries in a memorial photo before the launch of the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit (AlUla), which was held at the beginning of 2021 (SPA)
Leaders and heads of delegations of Gulf countries in a memorial photo before the launch of the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit (AlUla), which was held at the beginning of 2021 (SPA)
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Riyadh Hosts 42nd GCC Summit to Face Challenges, Seize Opportunities

Leaders and heads of delegations of Gulf countries in a memorial photo before the launch of the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit (AlUla), which was held at the beginning of 2021 (SPA)
Leaders and heads of delegations of Gulf countries in a memorial photo before the launch of the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit (AlUla), which was held at the beginning of 2021 (SPA)

Riyadh is set to host the 42nd Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit on Tuesday, with leaders from the six member states geared up to explore ways to boost cooperation and confront challenges.

Besides focusing on the outcomes of the AlUla Summit, the GCC conference will center around the full implementation of the vision set out by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and ratified by the GCC Supreme Council in 2015.

Accordingly, the summit will center around completing elements of economic integration and joint defense and security systems and developing a unified foreign policy among member states.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will head the Saudi delegation to the summit. The Bahraini delegation will be headed by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The Qatari delegation will be headed by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

On behalf of Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, Sheikh Fahd bin Mahmood Al Said will head the Sultanate of Oman’s delegation at the summit. UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum will lead the UAE delegation.

Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah will head the Kuwaiti delegation to the summit.

The summit is being held at a sensitive time during which the region is facing many challenges, according to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

Despite the hardships, the top Saudi diplomat stressed that there are many opportunities present at the same time.

The foreign minister’s statement came at the end of a press conference in Riyadh after a meeting of the foreign ministers of the GCC countries in the presence of their Egyptian counterpart.

He affirmed that the leaders would discuss sensitive issues relating to regional security.

GCC Secretary-General Nayef al-Hajraf told reporters on Sunday that there are continuing consultations to enhance the stability of the region and the world.

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Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Taiwan is investigating who is responsible for modifying the pagers that were turned into explosives in the hands of the Lebanese people, including members of Hezbollah.

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang told Asharq Al-Awsat that 260,000 pagers were exported from his country between 2022 and 2024, and 16 percent of them were sent to the United States and Europe.

He expressed his regret that the pagers were planted with explosives that were used in the attack in Lebanon last month, clarifying that the devices were not directly exported from Taiwan to Lebanon.

He explained that the components of the device are made of material that is not liable to explode.

Apollo Gold, the Taiwanese company that exported the pagers between 2022 and 2024, has never received any complaints that its devices have caused harm or exploded.

The attack in Lebanon has raised several questions and they are being probed by authorities in Taiwan, he went on to say.

One thing is for certain, the devices were not harmful in the shape they were exported from the country, stressed Chang.

Asked about whether the attack may harm Taiwan’s economy, he replied that his country’s industry sector has a strong reputation that will be difficult to undermine given the trust it has from clients.

The size of the sector and Taiwan’s investments cannot be measured by a small number of pagers, as they only make up a mere fraction in the country’s trade relations with countries all over the world, he stressed.

Separately, Chang revealed that Taiwan was considering cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the chip industry, saying he was optimistic over the broad potential for cooperation in the technology sector.

There are no limits to the cooperation between them, he added.

Taiwan constantly wants to maintain the relations and discuss opportunities for joint investments, he stated.

Taiwan was among the first countries to leap to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in all fields to help the Kingdom achieve its Vision 2030 that is spearheaded by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Chang said.