All Gulf nations to attend GCC Summit in Riyadh next month, says Kuwaiti minister

Almost a year and a half after the official start of the illegal siege of Qatar, there is optimism in some quarters that things may finally be witnessing a change.

The next edition of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting, scheduled to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next month, looks set to see representation from all GCC nations including Qatar.

Kuwait's Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al Jarallah confirmed this in a Press statement.

“I’m optimistic that the level of representation is expected to be high and reflects the keenness of GCC leaders to maintain this pioneering experience,” the minister was quoted as saying by Al Rai Media (Arabic link).

Al Jarallah said the summit offers a ray of hope in reviving efforts to resolve the ongoing Gulf crisis, reported Al Jazeera.

At last year’s GCC summit in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain had sent their ministers or deputy prime ministers, rather than heads of states, reported Reuters.

From the very beginning of the illegal siege, Kuwait has been acting as a mediator to end the crisis.

Earlier this month, HH The Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had said while he regretted the continuation of the conflict, the ‘crises will pass.’