Next Gulf Cooperation Council summit scheduled to take place in Doha

According to Anadolu news agency, the Gulf countries have agreed to hold the upcoming Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Doha following a surprise summit that was held in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday evening, signalling a further thawing of relations with Qatar.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain also agreed to return their ambassadors to Doha, although they have not issued any official confirmation of a precise date yet.

The summit in Riyadh was attended by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Vice President of the UAE and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed Al-Maktoum, Crown Prince of Abu-Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Al-Nahyan, King of Bahrain Hammad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The summit centred on a number of topics of interest to the Kingdom and the Gulf states.

Anadolu noted that the Sultanate of Oman was absent from the meeting, “due to the understanding that the Riyadh summit was not a substitute for the GCC summit in Doha”.

The GCC Summit, scheduled for December, is expected to centre on the crisis the Gulf is experiencing as a result of the political divisions currently undermining the wider region.