By KUNA,
Brussels : Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah will arrive here on Sunday to participate in the 18th coordination meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and European Union (EU) states.
Sheikh Dr. Mohammad is scheduled to attend a business dinner, to be held by Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmad Abdullah Al-Mahmoud in honor of GCC delegations — where Qatar is the current rotating president of the Council.
Sheikh Dr. Mohammad is also scheduled to attend a luncheon on his honor, to be held by Kuwaiti Ambassador to Belgium and the EU Nabeela Al-Mulla next Monday.
Also on Monday at the headquarters of the EU, Sheikh Dr. Mohammad is to meet his Cypriot counterpart, Marcos Kyprianou.
Sheikh Dr. Mohammad is expected to take part, next Monday evening, in the 18th coordination meeting of GCC Ministerial Council and the EU.
The meeting will discuss free trade negotiations between the two sides and exchange views on developments in the EU and GCC states, in addition to political issues of common interest including developments in the Middle East, Iraq and Iran, human rights, intercultural dialogue, terrorism and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Both, the GCC and the EU, will then hold a news conference following the meeting, and in subsequence, a banquet in honor of ministers from both sides is to be held.
Sheikh Dr. Mohammad is then to leave Brussels Monday evening, heading to the Austrian capital, Vienna.
The GCC delegation to the coordination meeting is headed by Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and includes Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Al-Sabah, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia Dr. Nizar Madani, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs of Oman Youssif Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah and Bahrain’s Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium, Dr. Muhammad Abdul Ghaffar.
Meanwhile, the European side is headed by Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel as President of the current session of the EU and includes the top coordinator for foreign and security policy at the EU Javier Solana and EU Commissioner for External Affairs Benita Ferrero-Waldner.