GCC envoys may return to their offices in Doha

Manama — Ambassadors of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE may return to their offices in Qatar at any time, said Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Shaikh Khalid referred to an agreement concluded at a meeting held in Jeddah in August to solve issues between Qatar and other GCC states.

Regarding arrangements by the international coalition to fight the ISIS, Shaikh Khalid said a meeting will be held after a couple of days in Paris to form wider coalition and international mobilisation to confront the ISIS using military power, but “we have to first disband the ISIS from inside”.

“We have to solve the ISIS problem first from within our countries than outside. How do our sons join such terrorist organisations?” he wondered.In reply to Iran’s demand to join such an international coalition to fight terrorism, the minister said that any attempt made by any party to combat terrorism is good and would help the security of the region.

Asked about the current situation in Egypt, Shaikh Khalid said Egypt is moving on the right track as the present Egyptian government has determined the shortcomings and began fixing them.

He reiterated Bahrain’s solidarity with Egypt as the latter has stood by Manama during the past decades. He revealed a joint Egyptian-Bahraini coordination to handle current issues, especially the region’s stand in the face of terrorism.

malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com