Parliament Speaker and chairman of the Executive Committee of the Parliamentary Division Ahmed Al Musallam chaired a meeting ahead of the meeting between the speakers of the GCC Shura, Parliament, National and National Assembly councils and the European Parliament today at the European Parliament headquarters in Brussels.
It was attended by the speakers and representatives of the GCC legislative councils, the GCC Secretary-General and Dr Mohammed Ali Behzad, Bahrain’s Ambassador to Belgium.
Mr Al Musallam said Bahrain’s legislature was committed to strengthening parliamentary co-operation and aligning the positions and visions of Gulf legislative councils and parliaments at Arab, regional and international forums, in line with the vision of His Majesty King Hamad.
He praised the achievements of joint GCC action, supported by the leaders of GCC states. He emphasised that Bahrain continued to support efforts to strengthen integration and advance development and prosperity across various sectors.
The agenda included an address by the GCC Secretary General, a briefing on GCC-European relations and key areas of mutual interest, and topics for co-ordination at the summit. Participants exchanged views and co-ordinated positions on its main themes, particularly economic and trade partnership, Gulf security and freedom of maritime navigation, European security and wider international implications.
The co-ordination meeting also discussed the draft joint statement and the outcomes of the speakers’ meeting, including proposed Gulf messages and positions to be included in the statement. Participants considered means to ensure that shared Gulf priorities and interests were reflected in the summit’s outcomes, follow up on the meeting’s results, strengthen GCC-European parliamentary co-operation, and improve communication and co-ordination among Gulf legislative councils on shared initiatives and issues.
The meeting also saw an exchange of views among Gulf parliaments on the issues on the speakers’ meeting agenda.
Key topics included turning shared interests into a strategic partnership through open trade and stronger links between regions and peoples; security in the Gulf, including freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea; European security and the wider implications of the Russian war on Ukraine; and parliamentary diplomacy and the future of parliamentary co-operation.
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