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Qatar Emir to attend GCC summit in Kuwait this week

Published

9 years ago

December 4, 2017

Qatar Emir to attend GCC summit in Kuwait this week

May lead to crisis resolution if Saudi Arabia participates

The diplomatic thaw in Middle East seems to be in the offing. Having faced six months of blockade by Saudi led quartet Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will attend 38^th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Kuwait later this week.

Qatar’s foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced on Sunday that Emir has accepted Kuwait’s invitation to attend the two-day summit beginning on Tuesday.

According to Doha based Aljazeera, the foreign minister said, “I will attend the ministerial council tomorrow and the emir will attend the summit.” He was speaking at a forum. “It is important that the GCC system remains alive,” he said.

The emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah was the first Arab leader who tried to mediate for resolving Qatar crisis involving diplomatic impasse.

Last week, Kuwait had invited all six GCC member states. It is still not clear if all other leaders would attend the summit.

The GCC, established in 1981, the early years of Iraq-Iran war (1980-88), is a political and economic alliance of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The recent Qatar crisis has created ruptures with a debate if GCC will survive due to ongoing tension in the region.

On June 5 this year, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt had suddenly severed diplomatic, air, sea and land route ties with Qatar. They accused Qatar of supporting “terrorism”, maintaining cordial relations with Iran and meddling in the internal affairs of their countries.

Qatar strongly denied all allegations. Doha maintains there is no legitimate justification for the blockade calling it “a violation of its sovereignty”.

Saudi Arabia had also appealed to “all brotherly nations” to join the blockading countries. Kuwait and Oman did not join the quartet. Instead Kuwait, with US support, tried to mediate for resolving the crisis.

In the third week of June, Saudi Arabia led quartet put forwarded 13-point charter of demands asking Qatar, among others, to cut its ties with Iran, close down new Turkish army base in its territory and shut its Aljazeera news network.

In August, Qatari foreign minister visited Tehran and both countries decided to send their ambassadors to each other’s capitals. Qatar had called its Ambassador along with Saudi Arabia after violent protest against Saudi Embassy in Tehran in January 2016 after Mina tragedy during Hajj.

In October, Kuwait’s emir warned of the potential collapse of the Gulf Cooperation Council if the crisis continues.

He was quoted saying, “Contrary to our wishes and hopes, the Gulf crisis has the potential of escalating; therefore, all of us must be fully aware of its potential consequences.” “Any escalation will bring with it an outright call for regional and international intervention, which will destroy the security of the Gulf and its people.”

At the end of October, Qatar’s Emir sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, during an interview with US based CBS News, had accused Saudi Arabia of seeking “regime change” in his country. He had also asserted that he will not bow to pressure and country’s independence and sovereignty is a “red line”.

Bahrain, which is enjoying Saudi army’s support in suppressing its pro-democratic opposition since 2011, had indicated in late October that its king Hamad bin Issa Al-Khalifa will not attend GCC summit if attended by Qatar unless Doha “correct its approach”.

Meanwhile, Marwan Kabalan, director of policy analysis at the Doha Institute has told Al Jazeera about the imminent danger of a GCC collapse.

He said, “The emir of Kuwait knows very well that if the crisis runs for long, we’re going to see two blocks within the GCC. One is led by Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Bahrain, and the other will actually have Qatar, Oman and to a lesser extent, probably Kuwait. So we’ll be having then two GCCs, rather than one.”

“Qatar has made it clear many times, by the emir of Qatar and by other Qatari officials, that they cannot accept a total surrender. They want a negotiation. They want mutual concessions by all sides, actually, to solve the crisis,” added Kabalan.

The GCC is the only pan-Arab alliance active with its leaders meeting twice a year. In December the leaders meet in the member states (in rotation) and once in Riyadh, the headquarters of the body.

The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), does not carry any information on who will, if any, will represent Saudi Arabia in the GCC summit in Kuwait till 11.30 Monday morning (local time). Kuwaiti News Agency (KUNA) also does not carry any news story telling the names of countries participating in the pre-summit ministerial meeting on Monday.

However, most of the Arab news websites carried story about participation of Qatar’s Emir in the summit.

However, Gulf News reports that GCC summit’s fate and level of representation will most likely depend on the outcome of the foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday.

Related Topics:Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)Qatar Saudi Arabia

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Trump rejects Iran’s 7-day peace plan, says deal can come after US polls

US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s seven-day proposal to end hostilities and indicated that a deal could come after the US midterm elections in November.

Published

6 hours ago

September 26, 2026

APNLive Desk

US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s latest proposal aimed at bringing an end to the ongoing conflict, while indicating that a possible agreement could come after the US midterm elections in November.

Iran had proposed a seven-day framework under which hostilities could be brought to an end, the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened and negotiations over its nuclear programme could resume.

Iran’s seven-day proposal

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had put forward the proposal through intermediaries. Under the plan, the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened by the end of the seventh day if specified conditions were met, while broader nuclear discussions would restart.

The proposal was based largely on an earlier understanding reached between Washington and Tehran, but Iran sought to implement the latest framework much faster. The earlier arrangement had provided a longer period for negotiations.

The Strait of Hormuz is a strategically important waterway for global energy shipments, making its reopening a key element of any effort to ease the wider conflict.

Trump points to US midterm elections

Trump, speaking at the United Nations, showed no indication that he was ready to immediately resume negotiations on the terms proposed by Tehran.

He called for the economic isolation of Iran and said he believed a deal could be reached after the US midterm elections in November. Trump also said Iran was waiting to see how he performed in the midterm elections.

The remarks came as Iranian officials signalled that they remained open to diplomacy and described the UN General Assembly as an opportunity to revive negotiations.

Nuclear talks remain part of Iran proposal

Iran’s latest plan links the easing of hostilities with the resumption of negotiations over its nuclear programme.

The proposal follows the collapse of an earlier US-Iran arrangement. According to reporting on the latest proposal, the new framework is intended to compress the timeline for implementing commitments that had previously been discussed by the two sides.

For now, Trump’s remarks indicate that Washington is not accepting Tehran’s seven-day framework as presented, while Iran continues to put diplomacy and negotiations forward as part of its proposal.

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Iranian President Pezeshkian at UN says Iranians have been victims of US terrorism

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said at the UN General Assembly that Iranians had been victims of US terrorism and insisted that Iran had acted in self-defence.

Published

3 days ago

September 23, 2026

APNLive Desk

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the United States of subjecting Iranians to what he described as terrorism while addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.

Pezeshkian said Iran had defended itself against attacks and rejected the characterisation of the country as a terrorist actor. His remarks came during a rare wartime appearance at the UN as tensions between Iran and the United States remain high.

Pezeshkian accuses US and Israel of attacks

Speaking at the General Assembly, Pezeshkian said Iranian civilians had been targeted by attacks and described the actions against his country as aggression.

“We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” he said, according to the report.

Pezeshkian also accused the United States and Israel of attacking Iran, while maintaining that Tehran’s response was an act of self-defence.

The Iranian president displayed photographs of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and more than 150 schoolchildren who, according to his account, were killed during the early days of the conflict.

Iran’s message at the UN

Pezeshkian’s address came against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States and heightened tensions in the region.

Iranian officials had indicated ahead of the UN visit that they intended to highlight what Tehran considers attacks against its people and raise concerns over the international response to the conflict.

The Iranian delegation’s visit to New York also comes amid restrictions imposed by the United States on the delegation’s movement and other aspects of its stay, according to reporting ahead of the address.

Pezeshkian says Iran defended itself

Pezeshkian’s central message at the UN was that Iran’s military actions should be viewed as a response to attacks rather than terrorism.

His description of the conflict and the allegations against the United States and Israel represent the Iranian government’s position. They should therefore be attributed to Pezeshkian rather than presented as independently established facts.

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PM Modi’s Canada visit could help wrap trade talks, says Canada PM Mark Carney

Canadian PM Mark Carney said he is looking forward to hosting PM Narendra Modi, with both countries aiming to conclude their ongoing trade negotiations.

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he is looking forward to hosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as India and Canada continue efforts to advance their bilateral relationship and conclude ongoing trade negotiations.

The two countries have been working towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), with both sides previously setting a target to conclude the negotiations in 2026.

Carney and Modi have held discussions on strengthening economic ties between India and Canada, including trade and investment. Their engagement has gained momentum following Carney’s visit to India earlier this year.

India-Canada trade talks

India and Canada formally resumed efforts towards a broader trade agreement after a period of strained bilateral ties. The two sides have committed to advancing negotiations on a CEPA covering their economic relationship.

In June, Carney and Modi reviewed progress in bilateral economic cooperation during their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France. They expressed satisfaction with the progress in CEPA negotiations and reaffirmed their shared objective of concluding the talks in 2026.

During Carney’s visit to India in March, the two leaders had also agreed to accelerate negotiations on the CEPA and work towards finalising the agreement during 2026.

Modi’s proposed Canada visit

Carney had invited PM Modi to visit Canada in 2026, and the two leaders agreed to remain engaged through diplomatic channels to work towards a mutually convenient date for the visit.

The proposed visit comes as New Delhi and Ottawa seek to build on renewed diplomatic and economic engagement, with trade negotiations remaining a key part of the relationship.

The focus on completing the trade talks comes as both countries look to expand commercial ties and establish a broader economic framework through the proposed CEPA.