GCC summit to convene despite Qatar crisis

The National -- An annual summit of heads of state of the GCC countries will convene in Kuwait next week despite the rift between some of the countries and Qatar.

A senior Kuwaiti official on Wednesday confirmed the meeting would take place on December 5 and 6 but said the level of representation was not yet clear.

It is not known if Qatar will attend the summit, but local newspapers reported that officials in Kuwait are preparing for all representatives to be present.

The Kuwaiti ministry of interior is placing all security forces on standby beginning next week – a procedure that commonly precedes major events in the Kuwaiti capital, a source told The National.

The summit, if attended by both sides of the ongoing rift, will be the first official meeting between Qatar and its three Gulf neighbours – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain – that cut diplomatic ties with Doha on June 5 over allegations it supports and harbours extremists. Egypt also severed relations with Qatar at the same time.

Event organisers said plans are still in motion to prepare for the summit.

The last time the leaders of the six Arab Gulf countries were all together was in May 2017 at the 17th GCC Consultative summit in Riyadh.