44th GCC Summit In Doha Likely To Prioritise Israel-Hamas Conflict

Taking to X, previously known as Twitter, on Tuesday, Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani welcomed the leaders and representatives of the sisterly Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to Doha to participate in the 44th GCC Summit.

The Emir noted that the Summit is being “held at a time when the region and the world are facing significant challenges for which the GCC countries can play roles that contribute to resolving them and mitigating their impacts.”

أرحب بإخواني قادة وممثلي دول مجلس التعاون الشقيقة في بلدهم الثاني قطر اليوم للمشاركة في قمتنا الخليجية الـ44 التي تنعقد في وقت تشهد فيه منطقتنا والعالم تحديات كبيرة يمكن لدولنا الخليجية أن تلعب فيها أدوارا تسهم في حلها والتخفيف من آثارها.

— تميم بن حمد (@TamimBinHamad) December 5, 2023

Gaza War To Dominate Agenda Of GCC Summit

The Gulf leaders are expected to primarily deal with the Israel-Hamas conflict, that has been raging on since a brutal Hamas attack on Israeli towns that killed at least 1,200 people. Israel’s retaliatory attacks on the Gaza Strip has claimed more than 15,500 lives.

The GCC Summit is expected to touch on the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict as set out in the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, which also states that East Jerusalem must be the capital of an independent Palestinian state, reported by The New Arab.

Recent mediation efforts by Qatar between Israel and Hamas resulted in a ceasefire, during which fighting was paused and humanitarian aid was allowed to enter Gaza as Hamas released hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. But the truce collapsed on December 1.

The 158th ministerial meeting of the Council took place on Monday, convening foreign ministers of the GCC countries in Doha. Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s foreign ministers met on Sunday in the capital city and prominent financial hub to discuss bilateral relations.

Joint Gulf Railway Project, Tourist Visa Strategies

This year’s GCC Summit is the first Council gathering held outside Saudi Arabia in five years. Other topics on the agenda are expected to include the joint Gulf railway project initiated in 2003. The heads of state could even discuss advancing toward economic unity by 2025.

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Several senior officials from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE will attend the meeting. The agenda also covers tourist visa strategies for the period between 2023 and 2030, along with joint military cooperation.