The Shura Council State of Qatar

Qatar, represented by the Shura Council, is hosting the 17th meeting of the Speakers of the Shura, National, and Parliamentary Councils of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries from Nov. 5-7, 2023, at the Lusail Hall in The Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

More than 100 participants, representing the presidents and members of the parliamentary councils in the Gulf countries, alongside their respective secretaries-general, will participate in the meeting presided over by HE President of the Shura Council Hassan Abdullah Al Ghanim.

The Shura Council, in coordination with the Permanent Committee for Conference Organization at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has completed all preparations to host this meeting, which had its inaugural edition in Doha in 2007.

Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council Dr. Hamda Hassan Al Sulaiti expressed delight in Qatar hosting this meeting and welcomed the brothers and sisters from the GCC in their second country, Qatar. She emphasized Qatar's commitment, both leadership and citizens, to enhancing Gulf unity and integration in all fields.

She said that the meeting of the GCC parliamentary heads is taking place under difficult circumstances due to the unprecedented and brutal attacks by the usurping entity since Oct. 7, resulting in the loss of thousands of martyrs and casualties, mostly children and women. She underscored that the GCC parliamentary councils prioritize the Palestinian cause as the primary issue for Arabs and Muslims.

The meeting will address the Israeli occupation forces' brutal aggression in Gaza and the heinous crimes against the Palestinian people, urging world parliaments to reject this aggression and pressuring their governments to halt it.

Furthermore, the meeting will discuss further coordination and integration among the Gulf legislative councils, aiming to hold coordinative meetings among them in various international parliamentary forums to unify their stances on different issues and subjects.

The agenda will also encompass discussing reports and outcomes related to relations and cooperation with parliaments across the world and other related matters.

The meeting of the GCC legislative council presidents will be preceded by the 16th meeting of the Parliamentary Coordination Committee and Foreign Relations on the upcoming Sunday, presided by Dr. Hamda Hassan Al Sulaiti, the Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council.

The committee's agenda includes reviewing reports of the European-GCC Parliamentary Committee, collaboration with the parliaments of Latin American countries, and various other agenda items.