His Excellency Mr Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), stated that the 168th GCC Ministerial Council meeting will convene tomorrow, Sunday (October 18, 2026), in the Kingdom of Bahrain, under the chairmanship of His Excellency Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain and Chairman of the current session of the Ministerial Council, in the presence of Their Highnesses and Excellencies the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the GCC member states. The 9th Joint Ministerial Meeting of the Strategic Dialogue between the GCC and the Russian Federation will also be held on its sidelines.
His Excellency the Secretary General noted that the 168th Ministerial Council meeting will address several topics and files related to bolstering joint Gulf action, in addition to reviewing the latest regional and international developments.
His Excellency also explained that the 9th Joint Ministerial Meeting of the Strategic Dialogue between the GCC and the Russian Federation comes within the framework of the noble directives of the Leaders of GCC member states, aimed at consolidating ties with various countries and regional blocs, as well as building effective strategic partnerships that cement the GCC's presence on the international stage.
His Excellency pointed out that the ministerial meeting will discuss several agenda items to explore avenues for advancing joint cooperation on one hand, and exchange views on a number of regional and international issues on the other.
His Excellency the Secretary General underlined that, since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for Strategic Dialogue in November 2011, both sides have continued to advance their joint efforts to propel GCC-Russian ties toward broader horizons, serving mutual interests across various fields.