The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have formed a new military and trade partnership separate from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to a statement issued by the UAE.
According to the statement from the UAE foreign ministry, the new committee "is assigned to cooperate and coordinate between the UAE and Saudi Arabia in all military, political, economic, trade and cultural fields, as well as others, in the interest of the two countries".
The GCC has faced an unprecedented crisis over the past six months amid a Saudi-led blockade of Qatar.
Representatives of the six countries - Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Oman - were meeting in Kuwait on Tuesday for the council's annual summit.
Since June, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt have enforced a land, sea and air blockade against Qatar.
The 38th GCC summit began in Kuwait City amid concerns over how long the crisis has persisted and calls from residents for a speedy resolution.
The announcement of the new Saudi-UAE partnership could complicate matters further.
