The leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and the Kingdom of Morocco have emphasized the need to give a powerful boost to their strategic partnership. In a final communique, issued at the end of their summit in Riyadh on Wednesday night, they stressed that the GCC states and Morocco constitute a strategic unified bloc, as what affects the security of any one of them affects the security of other countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported. "The leaders expressed their commitment to collective defense of the security of their countries and their stability, and respect for each country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. They also rejected any attempts aimed at undermining security and stability, and the dissemination of separatism and segregation to redraw the map of nations or splitting them, in a way threatening regional and international security and peace." The Gulf leaders backed Morocco fully in its row with the United Nations over the issue of Western Sahara. They reiterated their principled position that the cause of the Moroccan Sahara is also the cause of the GCC countries. The Gulf leaders affirmed their position that the Sahara is Moroccan and their support for the initiative of autonomy presented by Morocco as the basis for any solution to this regional dispute. In his speech, chairing the summit, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman pledged full support to Morocco on the issue of Sahara and all other political and security issues. "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 while addressing King Mohammed VI of Morocco. The King also emphasized the keenness of the GCC leaders to put their bilateral relations with Morocco at the highest levels in all political, economic, military and security realms. Addressing a joint press conference with his Moroccan counterpart Salaheddine Mezouar after the summit, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said the leaders discussed a number of important topics including sectarian strife, extremism and terrorism, in addition to the Islamic Military Alliance and (Iran's) interventions in the affairs of the region's countries. On his part, Mezouar reiterated the common will of the GCC leaders and Morocco to make their strategic partnership more ambitious, expanded and diversified.
