KUALA LUMPUR: Strategic cooperation with ASEAN member states and efforts to resolve the Gaza and the broader Palestinian issue were the main focus of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries at the 2nd ASEAN-GCC Summit, held in conjunction with the 46th ASEAN Summit here.
This commitment is aimed at ensuring continued prosperity and stability in both the ASEAN and Middle Eastern regions.
Secretary-General of the GCC, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, said the GCC is committed to leveraging all its technical and organisational capabilities to achieve the objectives of the ASEAN-GCC summit and to strengthen close cooperation between the ASEAN Secretariat and the GCC.
“This aims to achieve what our leaders aspire to in terms of effective and realistic cooperation, building on what our relationship has accumulated in terms of political trust, economic integration, and constructive institutional communication,” he said at the ASEAN-GCC Ministerial Meeting on Sunday.
At the same time, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al Yahya said the convening of the second GCC-ASEAN summit must reflect a shared political will to consolidate a comprehensive strategic partnership grounded in mutual respect and common interests.
He added that the world is currently undergoing rapid transformation, necessitating the activation of collective action and the strengthening of partnerships to tackle transboundary challenges, ranging from geopolitical and economic crises to climate change, food and health security, cyber threats, and unstable supply chains.
“We also emphasise the importance of enhancing cooperation between the GCC and ASEAN in three key areas: regional and international peace and stability; expanding economic, trade, and investment collaboration; and strengthening humanitarian, cultural, and social cooperation,” he said.
On the Palestinian issue, the GCC countries reiterated their firm support for the Palestinian people’s struggle and their right to establish an independent and sovereign state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Oman’s Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, Sheikh Khalifa Ali Al Harthy, said there must be immediate international action to halt the genocide in Gaza, open border crossings for humanitarian aid, and resist any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza.
“Oman calls on all parties to come together and work towards a just and comprehensive peace, which will ultimately lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” he said during his speech at the summit.
Echoing Oman’s position, Saudi Arabia – through its Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral International Affairs, Dr Abdulrahman Ibrahim Al-Rassi – strongly condemned the Israeli regime’s brutalities against the people of Gaza in his address.
“The Government of Saudi Arabia categorically rejects the unprecedented violations against the Palestinian people, and we deeply appreciate ASEAN’s stance and support for their cause,” he said.
The 46th ASEAN Summit and related meetings are being held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre today and tomorrow (May 26 and 27), alongside the 2nd ASEAN-GCC Summit and the inaugural ASEAN-GCC-China Summit.
The ASEAN Summit gathers leaders of member countries to discuss regional developments and chart the future direction of the bloc.
