Khalid Tawalbeh
Doha
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has called for joint Gulf action to address diverse challenges with the ongoing Israeli aggression against Gaza for eight months, representing a turning point in the history of the Middle East and the world.
"The world is still witnessing the inability of the international community to stop this barbaric war that led to the death of more than 36,000 people and the injury of thousands of Palestinian brethren as a result of the brutal Israeli aggression,” the PM said while chairing the 160th ministerial meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Doha on Sunday.
The PM added that addressing those challenges requires intensifying regional and international efforts to keep pressuring for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as it represents the core from which all other crises emerged, most notably the tensions in the
Red Sea.
At the outset of the meeting, the PM noted that holding this meeting emphasizes the keenness of the GCC countries and their aspirations to achieve fruitful achievements and outcomes to advance joint Gulf action to accomplish greater cooperation and strategic and developmental integration among the fraternal Gulf countries.
He said Qatar has worked since last October alongside its regional and international partners to achieve a permanent ceasefire and contain the crisis to avoid opening other firing fronts in the region.
"Qatar is seeking by all efforts and means to ensure security and stability in the region,” the PM said, affirming Qatar’s firm stance on the justice of the Palestinian cause, the legitimate rights of the fraternal Palestinian people, and the establishment of their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He said that the GCC council is capable of overcoming such challenges amid this bleak picture of the regional and global situation.
He pointed out that the GCC countries are characterized by strategic status and importance at the regional and international levels, embodied in the cooperation and constructive consultation that has been achieved to activate partnerships with friendly countries and other regional and international groups.
The PM pointed out that the GCC countries have worked tirelessly to strengthen relations and strategic dialogues in the political, security, economic, and commercial fields, in addition to the various environmental and development fields.
In that regard, he said that these policies were evident in the GCC council’s vision for regional security, which was adopted by the Ministerial Council last December in Doha, which included an action program to strengthen collective security and safety and seek to calm tensions in the region.
He began his speech by congratulating Their Majesties and Highnesses, leaders of the GCC countries, on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of the founding of the GCC council, under their leadership and wise guidance, which aspires to achieve the aspirations of Gulf countries and peoples.
On the sidelines of the Gulf ministerial meeting, two separate joint ministerial meetings were held between the GCC countries, with each of the Republic of Turkiye and the Republic of Yemen.