Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal has described as positive the outcome of the closed-door session held yesterday in Kuwait by the foreign ministers of the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at their 65th conference, which is in preparation for the Supreme Council Meeting scheduled for Kuwait in December.  On the issue of a Gulf Consultative Council, Prince Saud said that some proposals were made and they are under study, with the final decision on the issue referred to the December summit.

In his opening address, chairman of the conference Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah referred to the recent escalation between Iraq and the United Nations, and commended the world community consensus in rejecting the Iraqi pretext.   In this regard, he praised the common stance of the GCC countries and expressed satisfaction that all UN inspectors have now resumed their mission in Iraq.  He went on to hope that relations between the GCC states and Iran will continue to improve, pointing out that the recent visit by Iran's foreign minister Kamal Kharazzi revealed that the Iranian side is interested in opening new horizons on the basis of good neighborliness, mutual respect and non-interference in each other's affairs, and appealing to Iran for a prompt positive response to initiatives issued by the UAE calling for a final peaceful solution of the issue of the three islands including forwarding it to the International Court of Justice.  Regarding the Middle East peace process, he said the GCC member states regret the deterioration witnessed due to the arrogant policies of Israel.

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