Qatar’s new ambassador to Riyadh, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Thamir Al Thani (L), meets with Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday, November 24, 2014. (SPA)

Foreign ministers from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states will meet in Doha on Tuesday in preparation for the annual GCC summit next month, which will also be held in the Qatari capital.
General-Secretary of the GCC Abdullatif Bin Rashid Al-Zayani said the meeting would discuss further efforts to increase cooperation with member states, as well as wider regional and global issues.
Parallel meetings will also be held between the GCC foreign ministers and their counterparts from Morocco and Jordan to further boost strategic relations, Zayani said.
Another meeting will be held with the Yemeni foreign minister to discuss recent developments in the country following its recent crisis.
The meeting of GCC foreign ministers usually precedes the annual summit of leaders from member states.
Tuesday’s meeting in Doha will be the 133rd in the GCC’s history, and will be chaired by Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah. It is the first to be held in the Qatari capital, and will be the first of several GCC events to take place in the country throughout the rest of the year.
It comes following the easing of months-long tensions between Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain on the one hand, and fellow GCC member state Qatar on the other, after a meeting in Riyadh last Sunday brokered by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The three countries accused Qatar of interfering with other member states’ sovereign affairs, contravening the GCC’s charter. Tensions came to a head in March when Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Manama all withdrew their ambassadors from Doha.
Following last Sunday’s meeting, it was agreed all diplomatic ties would be fully resumed. Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Qatar returned to Doha last Monday.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s new ambassador to Riyadh, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Thamir Al Thani, met with Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz on Monday in preparation to his being officially recognized by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz.