Foreign Minister chairs GCC side at GCC-Canada Foreign Ministers' meeting

On the sidelines of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly, currently held here, Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa chaired the GCC side at a meeting between the GCC foreign ministers and their Canadian counterpart John Baird. They discussed ways to develop and strengthen political, economic, security and cultural relations between the two sides. The Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed that the meeting will open up new prospects to enhance relations between the GCC and Canada and consolidate mutual understanding on many regional and international issues. He said that it will promote cooperation between the two sides on issues such as combating terrorism and supporting plans to preserve regional security as the best means to achieve the goals and principles of the United Nations, maintaining peace and security, achieving cooperation and developing relations of friendship between countries . He stressed the importance of economic and investment relations between the GCC and Canada stemming from successes on the economic level, which, he said, will lead to creating promising opportunities between the two sides in the areas of trade, investment, health, education and food security, and foster relations between the GCC states and Canada further . The two sides agreed on the importance of strengthening consultation on all the security and political issues and the need to develop economic, trade and cultural cooperation to reflect the strong ties between them. They also affirmed the importance of the strategic dialogue, which will boost relations, achieve mutual interests and help in supporting security and stability in the region.