GCC-Yemen ministerial meeting opens

A joint meeting of the GCC-Yemen foreign ministers kick-started here on Wednesday as part of preparations for the 34th GCC Summit due here in December. In a keynote speech, Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah congratulated the Yemeni people on steps taken in the context of their country's peaceful power transition and the outcomes of the national dialogue. He stressed the significance of such steps which came in line with the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism under the sponsorship of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which played a pivotal role in the resolution of the Yemeni crisis. "We have recently witnessed concerted international efforts to support Yemen, the last of which was the ministerial meeting of the Friends of Yemen held in September on the sidelines of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly," he said. He quoted friendly countries and international organizations as having backed reform steps by the Yemeni government, pointing to reaffirmed Gulf support for the Yemeni people. The GCC member states are even willing to exert more efforts to shore up the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism, he said. The Kuwaiti deputy prime minister and foreign minister, who chairs the current session of the preparatory ministerial council, spoke highly of fervent and positive efforts exerted in this context by the foreign ministers of the GCC member states and ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Sheikh Sabah Khaled hoped that the GCC-Yemen meeting would lead to a further promotion and consolidation of cooperative relations between both sides and the fulfillment of security and stability requirements. On his part, GCC Secretary General Abdullatif Al-Zayani wished that obstacles impeding the Gulf initiative would be wiped out thanks to Yemen's wisdom and national will. Highly commending the initiative, he hoped that Yemen's National Dialogue Conference wound conclude soon with consensual outcomes that could lead to meeting the expectations and hopes of the Yemeni people for security, stability and prosperity. The GCC chief added that this significant periodical meeting comes while Yemen is confidently and optimistically going ahead with its economic and political reforms