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24th meeting of the Information Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Copy


24th meeting of the Information Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council - Copy

24th meeting of the Information Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Copy

Riyadh- Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi said that the 24th meeting of the Information Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which was held on Tuesday in Riyadh, was based on Riyadh declaration and the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, which was announced during the sixth session of the Supreme Council of the leaders of the GCC.

In a press statement following the meeting, he said that the meeting discussed more than ten major topics.

Atop of these topics was the Supreme Council’s decision to clarify the picture of the correct Islam, which was dealt with by the GCC ministries of information, along with recommendations on abroad-directed media and what must be done by the GCC to promote it; in addition to discussing joint production program development, which has been offering insights and proposals to renew and develop its mechanisms to be in consistent with modern machinery.

The minister indicated that the meeting also discussed ways to strengthen joint GCC media work and the preparations for the teams who will achieve this.

He referred to the information gathered during the meeting on the recommendations of a group from these teams, which will continue its work in this regard.

Dr. Altoraifi confirmed that the Information Ministers adopted the principle of communicating on a quarterly basis, so that there would be more than one meeting annually, in order to discuss a lot of topics, including strategies and media plans related to the promotion of the Gulf identity within the GCC and beyond.

Altoraifi pointed out that the issue was among priorities stressed on during the meeting.

The ministers hailed GCC decision on considering Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, a fact that include all media associated with this party and its organizations, as it is terrorism-funded media, and therefore, there must be a fight against it by the ministries of information and the media in the GCC member states.

Referring to the contents of the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques announced in the Riyadh Declaration, this decision is related to the need to fight terrorism in all its forms, combat it by all means, including the media, and cooperate with the international community to do so.

He denied the presence of any media related to the terrorist group Hezbollah in Saudi Arabia, stating that its slogans and propaganda have no place in neither in Saudi Arabia nor in any of the GCC member states.

He also stressed that the ministries of information of the GCC countries will stand firmly in the face of all media belonging to this terrorist organization or any other terrorist organization. He also drew attention to the importance of the Arab and World media recognizing the extent of danger posed by this terrorist organization, especially after the Arab Interior ministers labeled it as such, so it must not allow its spread its thoughts through media or Arab culture.

Altoraifi stressed that the position of Saudi Arabia is clear towards the organization of the terrorist group Hezbollah, which is the same position adopted by the GCC member states, represented by the Arab Interior Ministers at their meeting that was held recently.

He denied linking between Saudi Arabia’s position against Hezbollah and its relation with Lebanon, which is considered a sister state, based on appreciation and respect to the Premier of Lebanon.

Altoraifi also confirmed that Saudi Arabia is only interested in the war on terrorism by all means.

He indicated that the mechanism adopted by the GCC joint media to fight terrorism on the media level, is to fight Hezbollah’s production and programs and downsize their media content, which promotes their heretical thoughts, he concluded.