Riyadh-Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud chaired on Tuesday at Al-Dir’yah Palace the summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders and the King of Morocco.

King Salman addressed the Moroccan Monarch Mohammed VI asserting in his name and on behalf of the GCC member states’ leaders, the keenness to put their bilateral relations with Morocco at the highest levels, in all political, economic, military and security-related aspects.

“We stress our mutual solidarity and support for all the political and security issues which concern your brotherly nation, foremost among them the Moroccan Sahara (Western Sahara) issue, and we reject completely any prejudice to the higher interests of Morocco,” the King said.

For his part, King Mohammed VI stressed in his speech at the summit on the partnership between Morocco and the Gulf States. He said in the speech he delivered in the opening ceremony: “The Moroccan-Gulf partnership is not the result of transient interests or calculations. Rather, it derives its strength from a firm belief that ours is a common destiny and that we hold the same views on issues of common concern.”

“Despite the geographical distance, we are bound by solid relations that, in addition to language, religion and civilization, include a commitment to the same values and principles and the same constructive policies,” the Monarch added.

King Mohammed recalled that Morocco and GCC countries are also facing the same challenges and threats, particularly regarding the security situation.

The Morocco-Gulf summit was concluded with a final communique, which highlighted the summit’s promotion of the strategic partnership of cooperation between Morocco and the GCC States.

The leaders expressed their satisfaction for the ongoing joint action progress to achieve this strategic partnership.

They stressed the need to give this partnership a powerful boost, and they also expressed their commitment to collective defense of the security of their countries and their stability.

The two parties emphasized on the respect for the countries’ sovereignty, territorial integrity and national constants, in addition to their rejection of any attempt aimed at undermining security and stability and the dissemination of separatism and segregation to redraw the map of nations or splitting them, which threatens regional and international security and peace.

The summit stressed that Morocco and the GCC States constitute a strategic unified bloc, as what affects the security of any one of them affects the security of the other countries.

In this context, GCC leaders reiterated their principled stance regarding the cause of the Moroccan Sahara. They affirmed their supporting stance to the fact that the Sahara is Moroccan and their support for the initiative of autonomy presented by Morocco, as the basis for any solution to this artificial regional dispute.

They also expressed their rejection of any infringing on the higher interests of Morocco with regard to the serious indicators witnessed on this file in recent weeks.

The leaders also reiterated their condemnation of extremism and terrorism in all forms, stressing on the importance of not linking such threats with any civilization or religion and impeding attempts to spread sectarianism that fuels strife.

They further called for the coordination of regional and international efforts to counter terrorism and stem its causes, stressing the importance of the Islamic military alliance to fight terrorism in supporting these efforts.

The summit opened the door for discussing foundations laid for broader cooperation between the GCC, Morocco and African countries south of the Sahara, so as promoting security, stability and other common interests.

Finally, the leaders stressed the importance of continuing consultation and coordination in order to support the pillars of the existing partnership between the GCC States and Morocco to meet the aspirations of their people, serve the interests of the Arab and Islamic nations and to achieve international peace and security.