GCC Hails Saudi Evacuation Efforts from Sudan

Saudi citizens and nationals of other different countries arrive at Jeddah Sea Port after being evacuated from Sudan (SPA)
Saudi citizens and nationals of other different countries arrive at Jeddah Sea Port after being evacuated from Sudan (SPA)
TT

GCC Hails Saudi Evacuation Efforts from Sudan

Saudi citizens and nationals of other different countries arrive at Jeddah Sea Port after being evacuated from Sudan (SPA)
Saudi citizens and nationals of other different countries arrive at Jeddah Sea Port after being evacuated from Sudan (SPA)

The Gulf Cooperation Council on Tuesday hailed Saudi Arabia and its role in evacuating nationals of different Gulf and foreign countries besides its own from the battle-scarred country of Sudan.

The GCC hailed the diplomatic and logistical Saudi role, evacuating a number of civilians, diplomats and senior international officials.

Jasem Albudaiwi, the GCC Secretary General, extended gratitude to the leadership of the Kingdom for the “smooth evacuation” process of people from Sudan, and the thorough follow-up making certain they reach Jeddah safely, and from there back to their homelands.

He also praised Saudi Arabia and the GCC’s “major diplomatic” efforts to resolve the conflict in Sudan.

Albudaiwi renewed his calls on the conflicting parties in Sudan, the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, to halt all military actions, prioritizing instead the interest of the Sudanese people in what stability brings on.



Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
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Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa received a delegation from Bahrain on Wednesday and met with the Bahraini foreign minister, state media reported.

The visit was the latest in a flurry of diplomatic overtures by Arab countries to Syria’s new leaders after they overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning rebel offensive.

Like other Gulf countries, Bahrain had cut off diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad’s rule during the Syrian civil war, but it reopened its embassy in Damascus in 2018 and gradually restored ties with the Assad government.

Bahrain is the current head of the Arab summit, and days after Assad’s ouster it had sent a message to al-Sharaa offering its cooperation with the new authorities and saying, “We look forward to Syria regaining its authentic role in the Arab League.”