Greater Middle East (bbabo.net), - EU foreign ministers and their Arab Gulf counterparts will meet in Luxembourg next month to discuss regional security issues. European officials reported this to the Egyptian agency The National.
The war in Gaza is expected to be high on the agenda as the EU struggles to repair diplomatic ties with the Arab region, which have been undermined by accusations of double standards over the conflict.
The meeting on April 22 will take place after the regular meeting of the 27 EU foreign ministers. They also asked EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell to invite their Israeli counterpart Israel Katz to brief them on developments in Gaza. It is noted that hopes are growing in the West that Hamas will agree to a temporary ceasefire.
“The foreign ministers of the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will come together for the first high-level forum on regional security and cooperation, to be held on April 22 in Luxembourg, in parallel with the EU Foreign Affairs Council,” a senior official told The National EU.
“We can confirm that the high-level forum will take place on April 22,” said Peter Stano, a spokesman for the European Commission. “We will announce further details closer to the date.”
The meeting is likely to include discussions on the Gaza conflict and the EU's naval mission in the Red Sea, which aims to protect commercial shipping from Houthi attacks.
Officials decided to organize a high-level forum in October at a meeting in Muscat attended by Josep Borrell and senior Arab representatives, including GCC Secretary-General and Kuwaiti diplomat Jasem Al Budaiwi.
It is emphasized that joint working groups have been created to coordinate efforts on security issues, including the fight against terrorism and illegal migration.
Diplomatic efforts were made to implement the strategic partnership between the EU and the GCC, which was launched in 2022.
The EU-GCC partnership is a wide-ranging agreement aimed at strengthening relations in the areas of security, economics and energy. Last May, Brussels appointed an EU special envoy to the Gulf, Luigi Di Maio.
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