Gulf Today Report

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, said on Tuesday that the Gulf states have signed the “solidarity and stability” deal.

The leaders of Gulf countries arrived in Saudi Arabia’s Al Ula for the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council summit.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, received the dignitaries upon their arrival.

 

Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman directed that this summit be called the “Summit of Sultan Qaboos and Sheikh Sabah.”

Arrivals included Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Crown Prince of Bahrain Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Oman’s Deputy Prime Minister Fahad Al Said.

Sheikh Mohammed arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, leading the UAE delegation to the 41st session of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Al Ula governorate.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman receives Sheikh Mohammed.

GCC Secretary General Dr. Al-Hajraf and UAE Ambassador Sheikh Shakboot Bin Nahyan Al Nahyan too were present to receive Sheikh Mohammed.

The town of Al Ula in Saudi Arabia is hosting a Gulf summit that is poised to be nothing less than historic as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) begins its fifth decade.

The leaders and heads of delegations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states started arriving in Al Ula on Tuesday to attend the 41st session of the Supreme Council of the GCC.

Qatar's Ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani also headed to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, state media said, for a summit that is expected to see a formal agreement towards ending a dispute between Qatar and some Gulf nations.

A senior United Arab Emirates (UAE) official said on Monday that a Gulf Arab summit in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday would restore Gulf unity.

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in a Twitter post that "more work lies ahead and we are moving in the right direction".

Mohammed Bin Salman (right) receives Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah.

Qatar has been having a three-year-old feud with Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries and an agreement to end their rift is to be signed in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, a senior Trump administration official said.

"We've had a breakthrough in the Gulf Cooperation Council rift," said the official.

Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani too was received by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who welcomed him and his accompanying delegation to Saudi Arabia. GCC Secretary General Dr. Al-Hajraf was also present.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Salman receives the Emir of Qatar upon his arrival Al Ula.

The Qatari Emir and his delegation, which includes Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Thani and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, minister of foreign affairs, left in an official motorcade for Maraya Concert Hall.

Under the agreement, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt will lift the blockade on Qatar, and Doha will drop related lawsuits.