HM King participates in Gulf-China summit

Riyadh, Dec. 9 (BNA): His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa participated today in the Riyadh GCC-Chinese Summit for Cooperation and Development which convened at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Centre, in Riyadh. The summit was held in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, as well as leaders and heads of the GCC and Chinese delegations. It was chaired, on behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Addressing the summit, HM the King expressed thanks and gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister for the kind invitation to take part in the summit. He also extended thanks and appreciation to Chinese President Xi Jinping for his interest in boosting relations with the GCC countries on the basis of mutual respect and protection of joint interests. HM the King took pride in long-standing historical relations between Bahrain and China which span for about 34 years. HM the King called for resilient and renewable cooperation should security, political and economic challenges and risks persist with their hard pitfalls on the joint march towards prosperity and stability. He pointed out the significance of speeding up the free trade negotiations, maintaining smooth trade movement and its just competitiveness to ensure basic commodities reach markets on regular and sustainable basis. HM stressed the importance to implement the recommendations of the Arab-Chinese Cooperation Forum and promote joint investments in the infrastructure sectors. HM the King underscored the need to boost collective work within the framework of a more just and cohesive world order and commitment to protecting and respecting the countries’ sovereignty as well as their cultural and civilizational specificity. HM reiterated the unwavering stance supporting the principle of one-China, praising Beijing’s support to the security and interests of the GCC countries. He called for wisdom and diplomatic solutions to end differences and promote just peace across the world. HM thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for allowing the opportunity to open broader prospects for cooperation and strategic partnership between the GCC countries and the People’s Republic of China. Addressing the summit, the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister stressed solid partnership between the GCC countries and China, pointing out the positive results of this partnership on the region’s security and stability and in serving common interests. HRH commended the rapid economic growth and technological development in China under the leadership of its President XI Jinping. HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud praised China’s keenness to launch initiatives to further boost cooperation and multilateral international work, including mainly the Friends of International Development Initiative.