Special meeting for the GCC foreign ministers to unite position on Iraq

Foreign ministers from the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council states will hold a meeting on Saturday at the headquarters of the general secretariat of the GCC in Riyadh.

This special meeting is planned to reach a united Gulf stand towards issues to be debated on the agenda of the consultative meeting of the Arab foreign ministers due to be held in Cairo on January 24.

In its Thursday issue, the Saudi daily Okaz quoted a high-ranking Kuwaiti official as saying that the meeting of the GCC foreign ministers will also discuss developments in the Arab and Gulf arenas.

On December 29, 1998, the GCC foreign ministers held a special meeting in Riyadh, but no final declaration or statement was released by the meeting.

For his part, Kuwaiti Crown Prince and Prime Minister Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah has expressed his country's desire to maintain Arab solidarity and strengthen joint Arab action.

In a statement to the same Saudi daily, the Kuwaiti premier underlined the importance of good preparations for any Arab meeting with the objective to head off Arab partitions and disputes. Such positive results, he added are only attainable under good starts and preparations.