Security in the Gulf and the latest developments in Yemen will be high on the agenda of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Kuwait next month, the GCC secretary general has said.
"Some items have been added to the agenda to be discussed by the GCC leaders, topped by the security events in Yemen, and this requires further consultations," Abdul Rahman Al Atiyyah said as he explained the reasons for the postponement of the GCC foreign ministers to the first week of December.
The six ministers were scheduled to meet in Kuwait on Monday, but the meeting was postponed.
On Monday, Kuwaiti daily Al Siyassah reported that a request by one of the six member states to put off the meeting by 24 hours and hold it on Wednesday was turned down because of prior commitments by the other foreign ministers. The countries eventually agreed on holding the ministerial meeting after Eid expected to be celebrated on Friday November 27, the paper said.
The foreign ministers' meeting agenda included reviewing recommendations from various ministerial committees and fine-tuning the topics to be discussed by the GCC leaders at their summit in Kuwait on December 14.
"The summit will review political, economic, military and security issues, but will focus on security in the Gulf. The leaders will discuss the situation in Yemen, relations with Iran, Iran's nuclear issue, developments in Iraq, the status of the peace process in the Middle East and the occupation by Iran of the three islands," Al Atiyyah said, quoted by Al Jareeda, a Kuwaiti newspaper.
"The tensions prevailing in the world in general and in the region in particular demand that all parties deal cautiously with them based on a common strategy that guarantees security and stability for all and ensures prosperity for the nations," he said.
The GCC has strongly supported Yemen and Saudi Arabia against attacks by Houthi rebels.
“Any move to undermine Saudi Arabia’s security will be considered an attack on GCC security,” Al Atiyyah said.
Riyadh has bombarded Yemen's Houthi rebels for more than ten days in retaliation for the killing of two Saudi border guards during a cross-border incursion. The rebels blamed the Saudis for allowing Yemeni troops to use their territory to launch attacks against them.
