Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal led the Saudi delegation at the meeting, which was chaired by Ahmed Ibn Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, Qatari minister of state for foreign affairs.
In a joint communique issued after the meeting, the GCC foreign ministers "stressed the need to eliminate any obstacles to the president of Lebanese republic being elected on March 11."
The ministers, who met in a closed-door session, underlined their support for the "constitutional institutions" of Lebanon and expressed concern over obstacles to the Arab initiative for Lebanon.
The ministers were concerned about the volatile situation in Lebanon, which has led Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to advise their citizens in Lebanon, especially families living there, to leave the country immediately.
The final communique deplored "the brutal acts of aggression being perpetuated by Israeli forces against the Palestinian people and condemned the killing and the intimidation of civilians, especially women and children."
"The offensive operations and acts of killings and assassinations constitute a violation of international conventions, a breach of the international and humanitarian law," it said.
The GCC foreign ministers urged the international community to shoulder its responsibility and take necessary measures to protect the Palestinian people against such acts of aggression.
The meeting decided to intensify efforts to integrate Yemen with the Gulf bloc. "Completion of Yemen's accession procedures to Gulf Organization for Industrial Consultation (GOIC) and Gulf Cooperation Council Standardization Organization are set to be completed," said the communiqué.
Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Abdullah Al-Qarubi was present.
The foreign ministers also did the homework before they leave for the Senegalese capital Dakar to take part in the OIC foreign ministers meeting on March 9 ahead of the OIC summit scheduled for March 13 and 14.
Referring to the integration of Yemen to the GCC economic framework, the communiqué said that "the meeting has set in place mechanisms to encourage the investment of private sector from the Gulf states in Yemen. The meeting took note of the funds required to carry out the economic and social development plan for Yemen for 2006-2010. Speaking on this occasion, Yemen's Al-Qarubi said: "This cooperation is a start of a larger political Arab cooperation and the meeting conveys the desire of Yemen and the GCC states to get together."
He cited the increasing commercial exchange between Yemen and the Gulf countries since 2000.
In his speech, the GCC Secretary-General Abdul rahman Al-Atiyyah noted that the meeting comes within "the framework of joint and continuing efforts to strengthen fraternal relations between the GCC and Yemen due to Yemen's status and importance from the GCC's perspective."
Sources: Arab news
Tags: GCC, Lebanese, Lebanon, President, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, yemen
