Shaikh Khalid attends 138th GCC Ministerial Council meet

Manama: Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa yesterday attended the 138 Session of the GCC Ministerial Meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Ministerial Council paid tribute to the security forces of the Kingdom of Bahrain for thwarting a terrorist plot last January and arresting the Iran-backed terrorists.

The council’s final statement condemned Iran’s continued interferences in the domestic affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain besides supporting and training terrorists, providing them with smuggled arms and explosives and continuing to issue stirring statements at all levels to shake the Kingdom’s stability.

The council also affirmed its support for the GCC countries’ recent decision that labelled Hezbollah and all its leaders, and factions as terrorists.

It also affirmed that the GCC states shall continue to combat the Daesh or the so-called Islamic State through the US-led International Coalition Against Daesh.

Regarding the Yemeni issue, the council reiterated full commitment of the GCC States to Yemen’s unity and their respect for its sovereignty as well as their renunciation of any interference in its internal affairs.

The Council welcomed the opening of the GCC Maritime Operations Center (MOC) in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The Council also hailed the military exercise “North Thunder,” held under the command of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in February 2016, with the participation of the Peninsula Shield forces and forces from 20 brotherly and friendly Arab and Islamic countries. It said that such collaboration is a model in joint solidarity towards warding off dangers and confronting the challenges facing the region and achieving common interests of the Arab and Islamic nations.