Qatar’s delegation to the meeting was led by the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani.
After the meeting, the GCC Secretary-General, H E Abdurrahman bin Hamad Al Attiyah, told reporters that the meeting focussed on coordination on matters on the agenda of the GCC-European Union ministerial meeting scheduled to be held today.
Al Attiyah added that the GCC foreign ministers discussed the revitalisation of the joint cooperation agreement with the European side, signed in 1988.
He explained that the agreement covered cooperation in many fields, including the transfer of technology, education, scientific research, energy, industry, agriculture, fisheries, and standards and measurements.
Al Attiyah stressed in this respect the significance of institutional cooperation between the GCC and the European Union.
Responding to a question on the prospects of cooperation between the private sectors of the Gulf and the European Union, the GCC Secretary-General underlined that contacts were being maintained to this effect, saying: “we encourage the activation of cooperation between the European and Gulf private sectors.”
Al Attiyah said the topics on the agenda of the GCC-European Union meeting, which the GCC foreign ministers discussed, included the situation in the Middle East and Iraq, Iran, terrorism, piracy on the seas, human rights, climate change and the international economic crisis.
