GCC Secretary-General: First Ministerial Meeting with Switzerland Marks a New Phase in Partnership

The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jassem Al-Budaiwi, affirmed that the first joint ministerial meeting between the GCC and Switzerland lays the foundation for a new phase of partnership and opens broader horizons for developing relations between the two sides.

The Council’s General Secretariat noted that this statement was made by Al-Budaiwi during the joint ministerial meeting held on Monday evening in New York. The meeting was chaired by Bahrain’s Foreign Minister, Abdulatif Al-Zayani, who holds the current rotating chairmanship of the GCC Ministerial Council, and Swiss Federal Councillor and Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Head Ignazio Cassis, with the participation of the foreign ministers of the GCC member states.

Al-Budaiwi stated that Gulf-Swiss relations have witnessed significant developments this year, highlighted by the signing of a memorandum of understanding to establish a strategic dialogue between the two sides last January. He pointed out that a draft joint action plan is being prepared, covering cooperation in political, cultural, developmental, and humanitarian fields.

On regional issues, Al-Budaiwi shed light on the ballistic missile and drone attacks carried out by Iran and its proxies against GCC member states since February 28, which resulted in human and material losses and targeted critical infrastructure.

He warned that the disruption of international navigation and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have impacted the world through rising energy prices and supply chain disruptions. He emphasized that the security of waterways in the Gulf region is an international, not merely a regional, concern.

Al-Budaiwi called on Iran to fully comply with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2817, to permanently and unconditionally halt attacks, ensure they do not recur, and restore navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab to their pre-February 28 levels.

Al-Budaiwi reiterated the centrality of the Palestinian issue and the necessity of ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international legitimacy resolutions.

He expressed the GCC states’ hope that Switzerland will recognize the State of Palestine, thereby supporting international efforts to realize the two-state solution.

Concluding his speech, the Secretary-General expressed his anticipation that this inaugural ministerial meeting would mark the launch of a new phase in GCC-Swiss relations, reflecting a shared commitment to elevating these ties to more ambitious levels.