HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani is leading the State of Qatar’s delegation, participating in the 18th Consultative Meeting of Their Majesties and Highnesses leaders of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and to the GCC-Central Asia Summit. The meetings are taking place in Jeddah on Wednesday, and are attended by leaders and representatives from the six GCC countries and the five Central Asian countries: Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
The 18th Consultative Meeting of the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council deals with enhancing integration and joint Gulf cooperation. It is the first in eight months after the 43rd Gulf Summit held in Riyadh last December 9.
The GCC-Central Asia Summit is set to discuss issues of common cooperation, especially in the fields of trade and investment, energy, education, scientific research, industry, agriculture, tourism and culture. Additionally, the Leaders will address several regional and international issues of mutual interest, including supporting stability, enhancing security in the Gulf and Central Asia region, Islamic solidarity, countering extremism and terrorism and Islamophobia as well as other issues of common concerns.
The importance of holding this summit lies in the fact that it is the first of its kind and it reflects the GCC countries’ openness to partnerships with active blocs in the international community, with the aim of strengthening the GCC’s position globally.
The GCC General Secretariat said that the first GCC-Central Asia Summit aims to strengthen the relations between the GCC countries and the Central Asian countries on bases the principles and objectives stipulated in the GCC Charter 1981. The summit also aims to establish a partnership and develop mechanisms to ensure the sustainability of consultation and dialogue, as well as to enhance cooperation in the areas outlined in the joint action plan between them.
The summit is expected to adopt the Joint Action Plan for the period of 2023-2027. This plan was presented to the summit by the first Joint Ministerial Meeting between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Central Asian countries, which took place in Riyadh in September of the previous year.
In June 2022, the GCC General Secretariat held a consultative meeting at its headquarters in Riyadh to prepare for the summit. The meeting discussed the progress of the Joint Action Plan and as well as the preparations for the summit.
Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Negotiations at the GCC General Secretariat, Abdulaziz Hamad Al-Owaishek said that the meeting focused on the summit preparations and explored ways to enhance relations between the two sides within the framework of the joint action plan, which was approved at the ministerial meeting of the strategic dialogue held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Council in September, with participation of foreign ministers from both sides.
Source: Qatar News Agency