Mecca hosts three summits on May 30-31

Mecca will host three summits on May 30 and 31, two of which are emergency summits called by King Salman bin Abdulaziz in light of heightened tensions with Iran.

The emergency Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summits will be held on May 30, following recent drone strikes on oil installations in the Kingdom, and attacks on four vessels, including two Saudi oil tankers, off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

On May 31, the 14th session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit will be held under the title “Mecca Summit: Together for the Future.” The summit will be chaired by King Salman, and aims to develop a unified stance on current issues and events in the Islamic world.

Fifty seven heads of state are expected to attend, along with an expected 390 international journalists and fifty nine global channels.

The call comes in line with the Saudi King’s keenness to “consult and coordinate with the leaders of the brethren leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states as well as the leaders of Arab League countries, in all matters that would enhance the security and stability in the region,” state-owned SPA quoted an official source at the Saudi ministry of foreign affairs as saying.

The Kingdom had said that while it did not want war in the region, it was ready to respond strongly.

The UAE welcomed the move, stating that the current “critical circumstances” in the region required a “unified Arab and Gulf stance.”

Tensions have soared in the region, with the United States deploying an aircraft carrier and bombers there over alleged threats from Iran.

The Arab League’s Article 3 stipulates the periodic convening of the council at the summit level once a year in March. The last summit was on March 31 in Tunisia.

It also stipulates that if developments relating to the security of Arab nations emerge, the league shall hold sessions if one of the member states submits a request, which must be approved by two-thirds of the other member states.

Invitations to both summits were sent to all countries.

The three summits will be held while preparations are underway for an economic summit called for by the US. It is expected that the first phase of the American peace plan between the Palestinians and Israelis will be revealed at the summit, which is set to take place on June 25 and 26 in Bahrain.

The Mecca summits are also expected to tackle the Palestinian cause, along with a number of other decisive issues, mainly Iranian threats, the situation in Libya, Sudan, and Algeria, and terrorism in Yemen and Syria. The Syrian issue is one of the thorny topics that will be handled by the summits, which are set to discuss the refugee crisis and the resumption of American strikes on Syria.