Saudi Foreign Minister Receives Message from Qatari Counterpart

Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed al-Khuraiji receives the message from Qatari Ambassador to the Kingdom Bandar bin Mohammed al-Attiyah. (SPA)
Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed al-Khuraiji receives the message from Qatari Ambassador to the Kingdom Bandar bin Mohammed al-Attiyah. (SPA)
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Saudi Foreign Minister Receives Message from Qatari Counterpart

Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed al-Khuraiji receives the message from Qatari Ambassador to the Kingdom Bandar bin Mohammed al-Attiyah. (SPA)
Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed al-Khuraiji receives the message from Qatari Ambassador to the Kingdom Bandar bin Mohammed al-Attiyah. (SPA)

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received on Sunday a written message from his Qatari counterpart and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman.

The message tackled the strong and close fraternal relations that bind Saudi Arabia and Qatar and their peoples and ways to bolster them in various fields and on all levels.

The message was received on behalf of Prince Faisal by Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed al-Khuraiji during a meeting in Riyadh with Qatari Ambassador to the Kingdom Bandar bin Mohammed al-Attiyah.

The officials discussed bilateral relations and ways to boost them. They also exchanged views on issues of common interest.



OIC Adopts Arab Alternative to Trump’s Gaza Plan

Diplomats attend an Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah on March 7, 2025. (AFP)
Diplomats attend an Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah on March 7, 2025. (AFP)
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OIC Adopts Arab Alternative to Trump’s Gaza Plan

Diplomats attend an Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah on March 7, 2025. (AFP)
Diplomats attend an Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah on March 7, 2025. (AFP)

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation formally adopted early Saturday an Arab League counter-proposal to US President Donald Trump's plan to take over Gaza and displace its residents, calling on the international community to support the regional initiative.

The decision by the 57-member grouping came at an emergency meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, three days after the Arab League ratified the plan at a summit in Cairo.

The Egyptian-crafted alternative to Trump's widely condemned takeover proposes to rebuild the Gaza Strip under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority.

The OIC "adopts the plan... on the early recovery and reconstruction of Gaza", a communique said.

The body, which represents the Muslim world, urged "the international community and international and regional funding institutions to swiftly provide the necessary support for the plan".

Trump triggered global outrage when he suggested the US "take over" Gaza and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East", while forcing its Palestinian inhabitants to relocate to Egypt or Jordan.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty welcomed the OIC endorsement and said he now hoped to gain support from the wider international community, including the US.

"The next step is for the plan to become an international plan through adoption by the European Union and international parties such as Japan, Russia, China and others," Abdelatty said.

"This is what we will seek and we have contact with all parties, including the American party."

However, the Egyptian proposal -- which does not outline a role for Hamas, which controls Gaza -- has already been rejected by both the US and Israel.

The plan "does not meet the expectations" of Washington, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters on Thursday.

Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, however, gave a more positive reaction, calling it a "good-faith first step from the Egyptians".

Trump's plan has united Arab countries in opposition, and Rabha Seif Allam, of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, said Egypt was seeking "broad support" for its proposal.

"This is an attempt to build a broad coalition that refuses the displacement" of Palestinians from Gaza, she said.