Riyadh/Information Office/13 October 2016/ The fifth GCC-Turkish Joint Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue took place on Thursday at the headquarters of GCC general secretariat in Riyadh. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al Jubeir, president of the current session, chaired the GCC delegation, while Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu led the Turkish side. GCC Secretary General Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani participated in the meeting. The ministers discussed the latest developments in the Middle East and the regional and international issues of common interest, and stressed the importance of achieving the legitimate ambitions of the Arab peoples so as to achieve stability, prosperity and security, and raise the standard of living. In the field of joint cooperation, the ministers expressed satisfaction regarding the fifth session of the strategic dialogue between GCC and Turkey. They agreed to extend a current joint work-plan between GCC states and Turkey until 2018. The ministers directed that working teams be held on trade and investment, agriculture and food security, transport and communications, energy, environment, tourism, health, culture and education, and to intensify efforts in order to implement the joint work-plan between GCC and Turkey, and to delegate the GCC general secretariat to prepare a vision on developing strategic cooperation between GCC and Turkey in all fields, including free trade negotiations. They agreed to hold a third meeting of investment and trade work team during 2017 in Turkey, stressing their keenness to enhance trade and investment between the two sides and to remove commercial and investment obstacles. They also reaffirmed the goal of establishing a free trade zone between GCC and Turkey as soon as possible. They welcomed the GCC-Turkish Business and Investment Forum to be held in Bahrain on 1-2, November, 2016. The GCC ministers expressed the GCC solidarity with Turkey against the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and voiced support for measures taken by Turkey in this regard. They also stressed the GCC support for maintaining the Turkish stability and security under leadership of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wishing welfare and prosperity to the Turkish people. The GCC and Turkish foreign ministers condemned the attack on UAE civilian aid ship Swift near the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, seeing it as an act of terrorism threatening international navigation near the Bab al-Mandab which is contrary to international navigation laws and undermines regional and international efforts that are being made to send relief aid to Yemen. The ministers expressed their deep concern regarding the issue of kidnapping a number of Qatari nationals in southern Iraq in December 2015, who entered the country with an official permit from the Iraqi Ministry of Interior and with coordination with the Iraqi embassy in Doha. The ministers confirmed that this terrorist act is a flagrant violation of international law and human rights and contrary to the teachings of the Islamic religion. They expressed full solidarity with the government of the State of Qatar, stressing the responsibility of the Iraqi government to ensure their safety and release. The ministers praised the GCC efforts in the humanitarian field and welcomed the outcomes of the World Humanitarian Summit hosted by Turkey on May 23 and 24, 2016, expressing support for the efforts of the international community to improve the humanitarian system and stressing the need to cooperate in order to ensure effective response to humanitarian crises. Regarding regional and international issues, the ministers stressed their commitment to preserve Syria's unity, stability and territorial integrity. They also stressed the importance of reaching a peaceful solution that ensures a political transition in accordance with the Geneva I Communique and relevant international legitimacy decisions. They reiterated their support for the efforts exerted by the U.N. Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, that aim to reach the desired political solution. The ministers condemned the military escalation in Aleppo in terms of the random air shelling against civilians and the infrastructure of hospitals, places of worship, markets, schools and water plants by the regime and its supporters. They considered it a flagrant aggression that contradicts with international laws as well as humanitarian and moral principles, expressing deep regret that the Security Council failed to take any decision to stop the aerial campaign and the shelling of civilians in Aleppo. They called on the Security Council and international community to immediately intervene to end the aggression and alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people. They expressed their commitment to preserving the unity, stability and regional safety of Iraq as well as their solidarity with the Iraqi people in facing the ISIS group, stressing the intensification of support and cooperation with the Iraqi government as it seeks to address the needs of the Iraqi people. The ministers stressed the need to reach a national reconciliation, reach an effective and comprehensive government, and promote the capacities of Iraqi security forces in the war on ISIS group. They also reaffirmed the importance of adopting comprehensive policies towards affected local population and the swift implementation of all efforts that aim to achieve stability in the liberated regions in order to allow for the return of local residents and deny ISIS from finding any lands to exploit any more. They expressed concern regarding plans to use the troops of sectarian militias in the imminent operation to liberate Mosul, noting that these militias committed revenge attacks, mass killings, torture and clear violations of human rights against the local population in the liberated areas, which may negatively affect the continuity of the success of the operation and lead to sectarian conflicts. The ministers also called on Iran not to interfere in the internal affairs of the countries in the region, stressing that the relations among all states in the region should be based on the adherence to the U.N. Charter, international law, the principles of good neighborliness, respect for the national sovereignty of states, peaceful settlement of disputes, and the response to the UAE's efforts to resolve the issue of the three islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa through direct negotiations or by referral to the International Court of Justice. As for Yemen, the ministers emphasized full commitment to its unity and respect for its sovereignty and independence, rejecting any interference in its internal affairs. They also emphasized the importance of reaching a political solution in accordance with the Gulf initiative, its executive mechanism, the outputs of the comprehensive national dialogue and Riyadh conference, and the unconditional implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2216. They stressed the need to deliver humanitarian aid to all the Yemeni people without any obstacles and as soon as possible, highlighting the role of King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aids as well as Red Crescent societies in GCC states and Turkey, and calling on the international community to beef up humanitarian aids so as to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people. The ministers reaffirmed the need to reach a just, lasting and comprehensive peace agreement that leads to the establishment of an independent and coherent Palestinian state based on international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002. They also stressed the withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories, including Golan, and to retreat to the borders of June 4, 1967, asserting that Israeli settlements on occupied Arab territories are illegal according to international law and constitute a major obstacle in the road to achieve the desired peace, reiterating their support for the French initiative and all international efforts to widen participation to solve the Palestinian issue and accelerate the process of holding the international peace conference and work to end Israeli occupation and establish an independent and sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The ministers expressed their support for reaching a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement in Cyprus this year through ongoing negotiations at the United Nations. They stressed the need to put an end to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot people through tangible steps in line with the calls of the U.N. secretary general in his reports and the relevant decisions of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. As for Libya, the ministers welcomed the outcome of the ministerial meeting on Libya, which took place in New York on September 22, 2016 and reaffirmed backing for the national consensus government in Libya as the only legitimate government in the country. It also urged all Libyan parties to complete the transitional institutional construction in the country so as to enable the parliament to carry out its role in line with the Skhirat agreement. In addition, the ministers strongly condemned the suicide and terrorist bombings in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and other places, dismissing these terrorist attacks as horrific crimes that contradict with all the humanitarian and moral values and principles. They also denounced the attacks by PKK party and other terrorist groups against Turkey, stressing Turkey's right to defend itself. The ministers expressed their rejection of the U.S. Congress approval of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, stressing that it contradicts with the principles of international law, particularly the principle of equality in sovereignty of states, which is stipulated in the U.N. Charter. They expressed hope that the legislation will be reviewed due to its negative effects on relations among states, including the United States. The ministers agreed to hold their next joint meeting in 2017.