The First Ministerial Meeting of Strategic Cooperation Forum between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member States and the United States (U.S.) was concluded here today. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Current Chairman of GCC Ministerial Council, led the GCC side in the meeting, where the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led the U.S. side. The meeting was attended by GCC Secretary General Dr. Abdul-Latif bin Rashid Al-Zayani. At the end of meeting, the following joint statement was issued: "GCC Foreign Ministers and the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met today in Riyadh to launch GCC-U.S. Strategic Cooperation Forum which aims to develop an official framework for mutual strategic cooperation in political, military, security and economic fields. This forum includes holding regular ministerial meetings in addition to meetings between the senior officials and experts from both sides in all fields of common interest. The two sides are seeking through the forum to discuss key strategic issues, achieve common interests, coordinate efforts to support security and stability in the Middle East, and strengthen relations between the GCC Member States and the United States in all fields. --More
