DOHA: On agenda of today’s GCC foreign ministers’ meeting being held here are a number of key issues and it includes the proposed joint tourist visa system.
Also on agenda are human resource development in the region, water linkage and security programmes and the proposed GCC railway and customs union.
Today’s meeting is being held in preparation for the GCC Summit, which is scheduled to be held here on December 9 and 10.
Yesterday, a committee tasked with drafting recommendations for the preparatory meeting (of GCC Foreign Ministers) met at the Sheraton Doha Hotel.
The recommendations drafted by the committee included the above issues, among others, and will be submitted to the Ministerial Meeting being held today.
These recommendations will be finally referred to the GCC leaders to be discussed by them at their December 9-10 Summit.
Meanwhile, the Advisory Board of the Supreme Council of the GCC States also met today at the Sheraton Doha headed by Abdullah Bishara.
The Board exchanged views on issues (among them, plans for joint GCC tourist visa system) that are to be discussed with the Ministerial Council meeting today.
Significantly, after the drafting committee meeting, senior officials of the GCC met with their counterparts from Jordan and Morocco.
However, exactly what transpired at the meeting is not known. The joint meeting (between GCC and Jordan and Morocco) was chaired by the Director of GCC Affairs Department at Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Yousuf Al Jabir, Al Sharq reported yesterday.
As for the Ministerial Meeting being held today, political issues on its agenda include efforts to restore peace in Gaza (Palestine), International Alliance against the Islamic State (IS), Iran nuclear issue and its occupation of the three UAE islands and situations in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
A joint communiqué will be issued at the end of the meeting.
After this meeting, GCC foreign ministers will meet their Yemeni counterpart. Following this conclave, H E Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah, Qatar’s Foreign Minister, will be holding one-to-one meeting with his Yemeni counterpart. They will discuss the GCC initiative for Yemen and the current situation there.
The Advisory Board of the Supreme Council of GCC States will then be meeting the GCC foreign ministers and take up key regional issues.
At the end of the day today, a press conference will be held jointly by Qatar’s Foreign Minister, H E Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah, and Dr Abdul Lateef Al Zayani, GCC Secretary-General. They will brief the media about the issues discussed at the preparatory meet and field questions on these and other issues.
The Peninsula
