The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) led by Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, Chairman of the current session of the GCC Ministerial Council and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) led by, Dato Erywan Yusof, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei Darussalam, held a session of talks on Saturday, 28 September 2019, at UN headquarters in New York, on the margins of the meetings of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting was attended by Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council and delegations from the GCC Member States. The meeting issued a joint statement clarifying that the two sides discussed regional and international issues of common interest such as terrorism, violent extremism, regional conflicts, sustainable development and climate change. The statement noted that the two sides stressed the need to strengthen joint cooperation to face common challenges, as well as strongly condemned the attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia on 14 September 2019, as it's an attack not only on the Kingdom, but on international peace and security, and the stability of international oil markets. The statement pointed out that the two sides are studying close relations between the GCC and ASEAN countries based on historical and cultural ties and decades of friendship between the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
