The seventh ministerial meeting of the Strategic Dialogue between Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was held in Riyadh under the chairmanship of Sergey Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Russia, and Mohammed Al-Thani, Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, as the representative of the country holding the GCC Chairmanship. Lavrov emphasised that the influence of the states of the Global South and East is rapidly growing, with the dynamically developing countries of the Arabian Peninsula playing a prominent role among them.

“The format of the Strategic Dialogue has proved its relevance as an effective mechanism of interaction, has become a unique platform for discussing topical issues of development of trade and economic relations and expansion of cultural and humanitarian ties between our countries,” the Russian Foreign Ministry reports his words. The speeches of the Russian minister and his Arabian colleagues confirmed the common interest in further development and diversification of mutually beneficial business and cultural and humanitarian ties, taking into account the countries’ considerable potential. It was decided to hold the next meeting in 2025 in Russia.

It has also become known that, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has been invited to the BRICS summit in Kazan. During the meeting of GCC with the India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the diplomatic leaders reaffirmed their joint commitment to developing relations between countries. Jaishankar emphasised the vital importance of the Gulf Cooperation Council as a collective entity. He also emphasised the importance of the strategic and growing partnership between the Gulf Cooperation Council and India.

“Through joint initiatives in trade, investment, infrastructure development and people-to-people connectivity, this partnership not only fuels economic growth in the region and India, but also contributes to a more stable and prosperous global economy” reports India’s Ministry of External Affairs. The India-GCC Joint Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue adopted an Action Plan 2024-2028 for joint activities in various areas including health, trade, agriculture and food security, transport, energy and culture.

At the meeting with Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, said that relations with Brazil and the Gulf are historical and ancient relations are based on the foundations of mutual trust and fruitful co-operation. During his speech at the meeting, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said: “The dialogue between the GCC and Brazil at today’s joint ministerial meeting reflects the desire of the GCC states to strengthen dialogue between our countries.”

He also stressed that the strategic dialogue between the GCC and Brazil represents a paradigm shift for relations between the two sides. The meeting included the drafting of a memorandum of understanding for consultations on issues of common interest between the GCC and Brazil. To establish an appropriate framework for this dialogue, work is underway on a draft joint action plan between the GCC and Brazil for the period (2024-2028), which contains a number of areas of co-operation, namely dialogue in the political, economic and educational, medical, cultural and information fields, as well as in the fields of youth, sports, agriculture and food security.

Earlier, the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and Brazil held a series of bilateral talks where the officials reviewed relations between countries and ways to strengthen them in various field.

Photo: iStock / ANI / Russian Foreign Ministry