Next GCC summit in Riyadh: Alawi

Energy Wednesday 06/December/2017 17:23 PM
By: Times News Service
Next GCC summit in Riyadh: Alawi

Muscat: "As per the GCC meeting schedule, the next GCC summit will be held in Riyadh under the chair of the Sultanate," said Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs said to Oman News Agency (ONA) and Oman TV on Wednesday.
He added that as per the mechanisms of the 37th GCC Summit, which was held in Bahrain and the additional measures, the Summit will be held in the headquarters country and that the summit may be chaired by the headquarters country as well. The next Summit will be the first time to apply this procedure.
Alawi pointed out everything in the next Summit will be under the chair of the head of the host country. The ministerial meetings and other sub-meetings will be chaired by the state that has the turn in the schedule. An agreement should be reached whether to host such meetings at the headquarters country or outside it. This procedure will be applied at the current session chaired by Kuwait.
He noted that this measure has been adopted to facilitate procedures, which lacked regularisation and relied on understandings.
Previously, a GCC state may request another state to host the summit and its chairmanship. This procedure has been amended to regularise and integrate it in the measures and mechanisms applied for convening a summit.
As for the formation of a committee for amending the Basic Statute of the GCC, Alawi pointed out that there is a text about the mechanism for settling disputes and differences among GCC states.
This text has been applied only within the framework of fraternal understanding.
He added that everyone now endeavours to ensure integrity of the GCC and overcome all difficulties to fulfill the desires of all GCC states and peoples. Necessary measures will be developed to avoid recurrence of such disputes in the future.