Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will head to the Qatari capital, Doha, tomorrow, Sunday, to participate in a Turkish-Gulf summit.
Turkish diplomatic sources said in a media circular on Saturday that Fidan will participate in Doha in the sixth meeting of foreign ministers of the high-level strategic dialogue mechanism between Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The Turkish sources indicated that the meeting, which will be held for the first time in 8 years, will witness a review of Turkey’s cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council within the framework of the current joint action plan. The meeting will also include consultations on regional developments, especially the situation in the Gaza Strip.
It is noteworthy that the high-level strategic dialogue mechanism between Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council was established on September 2, 2008, according to a memorandum concluded on the sidelines of the meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council, in Jeddah, S
audi Arabia.
The mechanism came after momentum in political, economic, cultural, military and other relations between the two sides. Turkey was granted the title of the first country with which the Gulf Cooperation Council formed such a mechanism.
Under the high-level strategic dialogue mechanism, 5 meetings have been held so far at the level of foreign ministers, while the third meeting in 2010 in Kuwait witnessed the adoption of the current joint action plan.
This joint action plan stipulated the formation of working groups in 10 areas: ‘Trade and Investment,’ ‘Agriculture and Food Security,’ ‘Transport and Communications,’ ‘Energy,’ ‘Electricity and Water,’ ‘Environment,’ ‘Tourism.’ “Health”, “Culture” and “Education”.
The Saudi capital, Riyadh, previously hosted the last meeting of the high-level strategic dialogue mechanism, on October 13, 2016.
Bilateral relations between Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have gained momentum during the recent period, which has had a positive impact
on the institutional relationship with the Council as well.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency