39th GCC Summit: King Salman calls for maintaining entity of Gulf Council

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdulaziz said on Sunday, at the start of 39th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit which convened in Riyadh, that the kingdom is keen to maintain the entity of the GCC.

King Salman also said that the Iranian regime continues to practice terrorism and threaten the stability of the region.

The Saudi King also confirmed that the council supports a political solution to the Yemeni crisis.

Saudi King Salman also stressed in his opening speech that the Palestinian cause “is at the forefront of our concerns.”

He called on the international community to take the necessary measures to protect the Palestinians from Israel’s aggression.

For his part, Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said on the opening session of the summit, following King Salman's speech, that the member states of the council are keen on its role and on realizing the aspirations of the peoples of its countries.

The Kuwaiti Emir called for the halt of all directed media campaigns in the Gulf, in order to contain differences.

Earlier in the day, Saudi King Salman received the heads of the UAE, Bahraini, Kuwaiti and Omani delegations. The delegations included the UAE's Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed, Oman's Fahad bin Said, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa and Kuwait's Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) 39th annual summit is set to highlight regional unity where several issues will be discussed relating to Gulf cooperation in several fields.

The one-day annual gathering of leaders from the six member states is expected to focus on security issues, including the Yemen war and Iran’s regional activities, as well as political developments regionally and internationally.

Dr. Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, affirmed the importance of the 39th GCC Summit under the chairmanship of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the secretary general added that the meetings of the GCC leaders reflect their keenness to consolidate the GCC march, pointing out the GCC’s achievements in various political, security, defense, and economic fields.

Citing the importance of the GCC joint market and customs union, Zayani asserted that the economic integration and cooperation among these states makes GCC leaders keen to attend the summit due to the important benefits it will reap for the economy.

The most recent GCC summit was held in Kuwait on 5 December 2017, in which the Kuwait Declaration was issued where GCC leaders emphasized the importance of strengthening the role of the GCC and its march towards preserving its gains and achieving the aspirations of its citizens.