Riyadh: The first joint ministerial meeting of the strategic dialogue between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Central Asian countries will be held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Wednesday, with the participation of their excellencies, the foreign ministers of the GCC and Central Asian countries.
GCC Secretary-General Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al Hajraf said that the meeting, the first of its kind, will discuss areas of strengthening strategic relations and joint cooperation between the two sides to achieve stability, security, peace and friendship and serve common interests in the political, economic, and cultural fields to meet the aspirations of both sides.
Al Hajraf added in a statement to the GCC General Secretariat that the tour he made to the Central Asian republics in the first week of August—which witnessed the signing of memorandums of understanding between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Central Asian republics—reflects the great interest in establishing the institutional framework for relations that serve both sides and enhance the prospects for dialogue, in light of the presence of many common cultural and historical ties.
He stressed that the meeting establishes a new stage to push relations into broader areas in implementation of the directives of their Majesties and Highnesses, the leaders of the GCC countries, to strengthen and consolidate the Council's regional and international position as a model for security, stability and development.
