Bahrain calls to build regional community

Agencies | Jeddah                 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa emphasised the importance of building a regional community based on peaceful coexistence and mutual trust while preserving the sovereignty of states and their right to long-term development.

HM the King was speaking as he addressed yesterday's 18th Consultative Meeting of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and GCC-Central Asia Summit (C5) held at the King Abdullah International Conference Centre in Jeddah.

Both gatherings were chaired by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, with the participation of the heads of delegations from the GCC and Central Asian countries.

His Majesty commended the events, which aimed to launch relations based on fraternal rapprochement, political understanding, economic integration, knowledge exchange, cultural exchange, and security partnerships.

"Given what has been achieved between our countries in terms of the historical and deep-rooted ties and our solid cooperative relations, and taking into account areas of development on our path of progress and peace, our meeting today is the culmination of those serious endeavours to bring visions closer and to strengthen the basis of common vital interests to protect our spiritual values and civilization as a whole," HM King Hamad said.

"Further, it is a venue to work collectively and systematically to spread the culture and practises of peace and tolerance, enrich the channels of dialogue among religions and civilizations, outlaw religious, sectarian, and racial hate speech, and deter hostile terrorist forces by combating their organisations and sources of funding."

He affirmed that a sustainable collective renaissance requires stronger partnerships, security coordination, protection of navigation, and the prohibition of weapons of mass destruction.

"In this context, we underline the importance of linking the outcomes of our strategic dialogue and political coordination with international policies and UN commitments in accordance with institutional frameworks and mechanisms to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in their broad fields, focusing on trade and investment exchange in sectors such as energy, health, education, sport, tourism, digital transformation, food, and environmental security," HM the King noted.

"Taking into account the collective human and material capabilities of our countries, in addition to their long-standing expertise and successful experiences, our consultations establish a strong and ambitious partnership that raises the levels of joint cooperation, initiates peaceful and diplomatic solutions to end wars and conflicts and stop human suffering, and brings closer views on regional and international developments to work together towards a more stable and bright future, as well as accelerating efforts to find a just solution to the Palestinian issue will remain an urgent priority, so as to reach a lasting and comprehensive peace to which we all aspire, by delivering the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative based on the two-state solution."