GCC
Joint Defence Council Holds Meeting

Doha,
18 Sep (ONA) — The GCC Joint Defence Council held an extraordinary session today
in Doha, the State of Qatar.

The
meeting was chaired by Shaikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs of the State of Qatar and
President of the Extraordinary Session of the Joint Defence Council. It was
also attended by Dr Mohammed bin Nasser Al Zaabi, Secretary General of the
Ministry of Defence of the Sultanate of Oman, Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Mazrouei,
Minister of State for Defence Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lieutenant
General Abdullah Hassan Al Nuaimi, Minister of Defence Affairs of the Kingdom
of Bahrain, Prince Abdulrahman bin Mohammed, Deputy Minister of Defence of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Shaikh Abdullah Ali Al Abdullah Al Sabah, Minister of
Defence of the State of Kuwait and Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General
of the GCC.

The
Council discussed issues and topics related to the Israeli aggression and the
blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the State of
Qatar, threatening its security and stability. The Joint Defence Council
condemned in the strongest terms this dangerous military attack, stressing that
this aggressive act represents a dangerous and unacceptable escalation and a
grave violation of the principles of international law and the Charter of the
United Nations.

The
Council affirmed that the attack on the State of Qatar is an attack on all GCC
states, and that it supports them in all measures they take to confront this
aggression, to preserve their security and defend their unity and territorial
integrity.

The
Council underscored that this attack poses a direct threat to the security and
stability of the entire region and an infringement on the diplomatic and
mediation efforts undertaken by the State of Qatar to achieve a ceasefire in
the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages and detainees. They further emphasized
that the security of the GCC states is indivisible, in accordance with the
provisions of the Joint Defence Agreement. In this regard, the Joint Defence
Council decided the following: Increase the exchange of intelligence
information through the Unified Military Command; work to transmit the air
situation to all operation centres in the GCC states; Accelerate the work of
the Gulf Joint Task Force for the Early Warning System against Ballistic
Missiles; Update joint defence plans in coordination between the Unified
Military Command and the Operation and Training Committee of the GCC countries
and conduct joint exercises between air operation centres and air defence
forces over the next three months, to be followed by a joint actual air
exercise.

The
Council agreed to continue work, coordination, and consultation at all military
and intelligence levels to further enhance Gulf defence integration and work to
intensify and link defence systems to confront all risks and challenges,
ensuring the security, stability, and safety of all GCC countries, and
confronting any potential threats or attacks that threaten the stability of the
region.

—Ends/AG