Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), affirmed that the Gulf countries would continue to protect their interests and implement their plans towards a better future for their people and the region in general, stressing that the security of the Gulf was important to the world.
On the sidelines on the the eleventh session of the Gulf Research Forum, organized by the Gulf Research Center and the British University of Cambridge on Friday, Al-Hajraf said that one of the lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic was that solidarity was the only way to face challenges.
“No country can act alone, and every country can talk about its experience,” he noted.
He went on to say that the GCC, since its establishment, has actively engaged to confront terrorism and balance energy markets to achieve the interests of producers and consumers alike.
“Locally, GCC countries have developed plans to diversify their economies and improve the quality of life for their people. The GCC journey has remained stable despite the challenges,” he said, adding that the safety of the Gulf was very important to the security of the world.
“The situation in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen highlights a threat to the security of the Gulf,” Al-Hajraf warned.
The GCC Secretary-General stressed that the Gulf States would continue to protect their interests and meet the aspirations of their peoples.
For his part, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Saqr, President of the Gulf Research Center, stated that the forum comes at an important stage, as the world faces the repercussions of the pandemic. He noted that the virtual forum would feature 11 workshops, during which a number of research papers pertaining to Gulf affairs would be presented.
According to the head of the Gulf Research Center, discussions would also touch on the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the GCC, energy prospects and Gulf-US relations.
