- Title: SAUDI ARABIA: GCC foreign ministers meet in Jeddah ahead of OIC summit
- Date: 12th August 2012
- Summary: JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA (AUGUST 12, 2012) (REUTERS) DELEGATIONS ENTERING THE GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC) FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING VARIOUS OF GCC FOREIGN MINISTERS SEATED AT MEETING HALL KUWAITI FOREIGN MINISTER SHEIKH SABAH KHALED AL-SABAH SEATED UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE) STATE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AHMED GARGASH (LEFT) AND GCC SECRETARY GENERAL DR. ABDULATIF AL-ZEYANI SEATED (RIGHT) QATARI FOREIGN MINISTER SHEIKH HAMAD BIN JASSIM AL THANI OMANI FOREIGN MINISTER YOUSEF BIN ALWAI SEATED SAUDI STATE MINISTER FOR THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS NIZAR MADANI SEATED (LEFT) AND OMAN FOREIGN MINISTER YOUSEF BIN ALWAI SEATED RIGHT VARIOUS GCC FOREIGN MINISTERS' MEETING VARIOUS OF FLAGS OF COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING AT THE FOURTH EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF THE ISLAMIC SUMMIT CONFERENCE LOGO OF THE ISLAMIC SUMMIT CONFERENCE READING IN ARABIC "ISLAMIC SOLIDARITY SUMMIT CONFERENCE-MECCA" FLAGS OF THE ISLAMIC COUNTRIES VARIOUS OF FLAG OF IRAN AT THE IRAN SEAT AT THE SUMMIT FLAG OF SYRIA AT THE SYRIAN SEAT AT THE SUMMIT INSIDE SUMMIT HALL
- Embargoed: 27th August 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Saudi Arabia
- Country: Saudi Arabia
- Reuters ID: LVA3RS4987LSU1C00QZ0DU5KATWI
- Story Text: The foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and other Arab leaders met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday (August 12) ahead of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Mecca on Tuesday (August 14).
The OIC is to hold the two-day Fourth Extra-ordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference in Mecca.
Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz called the two-day Fourth Extra-Ordinary summit to examine the situation in countries of the Islamic world.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend the summit, which is expected to focus on Syria, Iranian media said on Monday (August 6), as tensions between Tehran and Riyadh run high over their opposing stances on regional uprisings.
Saudi Arabia's Sunni leaders have accused predominantly Shi'ite Iran of stoking what they see as sectarian unrest in the region. Iran has expressed support for Shi'ite-led protests in Bahrain against the ruling Sunni Al Khalifa family, allies of Saudi Arabia.
The two regional powers also disagree on the uprising in Syria, where predominantly Sunni rebels are fighting to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad, whose Alawite power base is an offshoot of Shi'ism.
Iran has steadfastly supported Assad's efforts to suppress the rebellion, and has accused Western powers and countries in the region of encouraging chaos in Syria by sending fighters and arms there. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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