(Changing dateline) RIYADH, March 9 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah arrived here on Tuesday to chair the 114th session of the ministerial council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Sheikh Dr. Mohammad, accompanied by his Bahraini counterpart Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, were received at King Khalid International Airport by Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal, GCC Secretary-General Abdulrahman Al-Atiyyah and Kuwait Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah.
The ministers are scheduled to review the progress achieved in the field of economic cooperation since the last GCC summit, hosted by Kuwait in mid December, 2009.
The debates will focus on key projects such as the planned railway to link GCC's six member states, environment protection and disaster management, as well as the Bahrain-conceived reforms of the regional bloc in the light of the outcome of the Kuwait summit.
The GCC ministers will discuss a report on the progress of the talks with friendly economic blocs and the strategic dialogue with China, Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), due to resume in the coming months They will also tackle security and military issues relating to the joint action in these domains.
They will follow up the projects on the development aid for Yemen in the light of the resolutions of meeting held at the GCC secretariat last week and prepare for the fifth GCC-Yemen ministerial meeting, due on March 17, in Sanaa, capital of Yemen.
The political agenda of the gathering includes several topics such as the three islands of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), being occupied by Iran.
The ministers are expected to reaffirm the GCC support for the UAE sovereignty over the disputed Abu Moussa, Greater and Lesser Tunbs in the Arabian Gulf.
They will renew the call for Iran to respond to the sincere efforts aiming to solve the dispute through direct talks or international arbitration at the International Court of Justice.
The agenda of the meeting also includes Iran's nuclear dossier, the situations in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Israeli violations of the Islamic sanctities, and the developments of the situations in Iraq, Sudan and Somalia. (pickup previous) ay.gb KUNA 091934 Mar 10NNNN¬