RIYADH: Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmad Naser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah (second from left) in a group photo following a ministerial meeting between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Egypt. - KUNA

RIYADH: Kuwait's Foreign Minister and State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Dr Ahmad Naser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah attended ministerial talks between the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council bloc and Egypt on Sunday in Riyadh. The meeting discussed deep-rooted relations between both sides and boosting these ties across various spectrums.

The GCC foreign ministers discussed regional developments, and the Gulf-Egypt historical relations and means of boosting them in all domains with their Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri, Saudi top diplomat Prince Faisal bin Farhan said. This came at a joint news conference held between Prince Faisal, Shukri and GCC Secretary General Nayef Al-Hajraf after the ministerial meeting.

The ministers reviewed during the meeting the most outstanding files pertaining to the region's security and challenges facing it as well as how to find political solutions to maintain international peace and security, he said. He extolled Egypt's "key" role on both international and regional levels in backing stability and security. He stressed that coordination and consultation between the GCC states and Egypt are ongoing, adding this is an essential part of the GCC foreign policy and important for the region's stability and security.

The ministers reviewed the gist of the tour made by Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman to the GCC states, he said. He went on to say that they "stressed on the importance of boosting cooperation amongst our states to complete the Gulf action path so as to preserve the joint strategic interests". He stated that the GCC leaders would discuss during today's summit "some sensitive issues related to regional security".

In addition, they will look to the future on how to strengthen cooperation mainly the development and economic aspect to push the unified Gulf march forward in a way that enhances the interests of the Gulf peoples in terms of the prosperity and development, the Saudi minister said. He said that the Gulf message to the world is that "we are a unified and ambitious entity that has an effective leadership heading confidently towards the future". "We want to be partners with the world in building a prosperous, stable and secure future for us, in the region and the world," he said.

Meanwhile, Shukri said the meeting is evidence of the continued deep-rooted relations on both popular and official levels. The conferees agreed on "addressing challenges and preserving the Arab national security can be achieved only through solidarity and cooperation either politically or economically," he said. He affirmed that "the security of GCC states is inseparable of Egypt's national security".

Meanwhile, Hajraf said following up on the implementation of the vision of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz approved by the GCC Supreme Council in 2015 was one of the most outstanding topics discussed during today's meeting. He emphasized that the GCC is a key economic bloc, which is ranked the 12th globally, and it has a lot of reserve of global oil and gas, in addition to its key ports and capitals. "Our message to the world is that we are looking forward to building real partnerships to serve common interests and boost global security and stability," he concluded. - KUNA