Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries held the opening session of their 96th round of talks of the Ministerial Council at the conferences palace in Jeddah tonight. Prince Saud Alfaisal, the Foreign Minister, leads the Saudi delegation to the meeting. Bahrain's Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, who is the chairman of the current round, welcomed the participants and thanked the Kingdom for warm welcome and generous hospitality. He paid tribute to late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, appealing to Allah Almighty to bestow mercy on his soul. He highlighted the late king's role in building the GCC over the last three decades of its bright history. He welcomed the allegiance offered by the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. He also highlighted the agenda of the meetings, noting the situations in Iraq, Palestine and Iran. He cast light on terrorism as an international phenomenon, vowing support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its fight against the deviant group and congratulating the Saudi security authorities on success they achieved in this fight. He noted that the 97th session will be held in Abu-Dhabi next November. Then the opening session turned to a closed-door meeting between the Ministerial Council and the Consultative Commission of the Supreme Council.
