Secretary Of State Marco Rubio, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya, And GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi At A Meeting With The Foreign Ministers Of The Gulf Cooperation Council Member States

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Thank you.  I want to welcome everybody here.  I want to – this is an exciting opportunity to continue to build on this very important strategic partnership.  I know the President very much enjoyed the opportunity to have his conversations with the heads of state in Riyadh back in May – in May, right?  So that was a great visit and a great opportunity to do that.

We’re very committed to this partnership as a whole and with each of the countries that are represented here today, committed to working together to address no shortage of regional and global challenges; but also not just challenges, but also to together work on the opportunities.  Sometimes the challenges get in the way of also pursuing the opportunities.  We want to be able to do both.

I know that the past few months have been filled – the past few weeks and the past few days have been filled with some very substantiable challenges, and so our conversations here are perhaps as critical as they have ever been.  Each and every one of you is a trusted partner, an important partner to the United States, and we want to work together and continue to work together to achieve our collective vision articulated repeatedly by the President, including in his first term as President of the United States, to together achieve a level of peace and of prosperity unrivaled and unprecedented in the past. 

I want to say upfront that I understand – we understand – very clearly that the situation in Gaza, the situation with Israel in Gaza, is a key concern for everyone in this room here today. We want this conflict to end.  We want it to end immediately.  The President stated that yesterday.  We want it to end with every single hostage being released, both living and deceased.  We want it to end in a Gaza that is free of terrorism, that is free of extremism, that does not pose a threat to Israel or any other part of the region, and where the people, the Palestinian people and the people of Gaza, have an opportunity to live in the peace and in the prosperity that we all want – not just for the region but for our own countries and for the world. 

And to that end, I know that some important work is ongoing in that regard, and I want everyone to know that.  Many of you are aware of that individually that we are – some very important work is ongoing, even as we speak, and hoping to achieve this as soon as possible. 

There are also some unique opportunities, exciting opportunities, that I know we’re working on together.  One of them is the future of Syria, an opportunity that maybe two years ago or a year, a year and a half ago, would have been unimaginable.  And the President remains committed not just from a unilateral standpoint of the United States, but in partnership with every country represented here today, to give Syria every chance possible to build a strong, unified state that – where the diversity of Syria is respected, but also a place that’s stable, that’s no longer a base of operation for extremists, that is no longer a base of operation for foreign actors that use it to launch attacks and destabilizing activity against their neighbors. 

In so many ways, the stability of Syria defines the stability of the region.  We have potentially what could be a very historic opportunity to do something that, as I said, could not have been imagined just a couple of years ago.  I know each member-state here has been very involved in that regard.  The President took a very bold action in May that we continue to follow up on and work on, and we’ve been very committed to that very important project, that very important opportunity. 

Likewise in Lebanon, an opportunity that’s also historic exists, and the United States remains very committed in that regard as well to ensuring that there is a strong Lebanese state, respectful of the diversity of that country, free of the influence of Iran and Hizballah and others who might undermine that stability, and does so in a way where the state there can exert its sovereignty and can emerge from a longstanding economic crisis.

I think it’s important to state that we have to remain clear-eyed by what we, at least the United States, strongly views as the destabilizing activities of the regime in Iran.  Let me say at the outset the United States, our people here, have tremendous admiration for the people of Iran.  This is an ancient culture.  This is a culture with a storied history, and it’s one that we have much to share in common with.  Unfortunately, it is led by leaders that we think have been more interested in exporting revolution and exporting destabilization than they have in building the prosperity of their own people.  And as the President stated in his speech yesterday, we cannot allow the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism to ever possess weapons of mass destruction like a nuclear weapon.

So the good news is that that regime faces challenges today that are significant compared to just a few years ago, which perhaps provides the opportunity to do some of the things we want to do in the region, including in Syria, where they were a very destabilizing presence in support of Assad.

So we have much to discuss here.  This is an important forum, one we are 100 percent committed to, the President is personally committed to, both at the bilateral level with every nation represented here, but also through this format and this forum, which has proved to be extraordinarily valuable in our interaction with each of you.

With that, I believe I am turning to – we’re starting with the – okay, so we’ll start – yes, sir.  Thank you.  Thank you again.  You’re the chair, so —

FOREIGN MINISTER AL-YAHYA:  (Via interpreter) Thank you (inaudible).  Mr. Secretary, I will deliver my statement in Arabic.

(Via interpreter) Your Excellency Secretary (inaudible), Secretary of State, (inaudible), Excellencies, distinguished guests, Honorable Secretary General of GCC, honorable guests:  Salam Alaikum, peace upon you.  We meet here at a time the world is witnessing challenges and conflicts that require cooperation and partnership (inaudible) that enables our common (inaudible) cooperation, and in a way that enables that cooperation. 

In this framework, the GCC countries would like to affirm the crucial role of the U.S. in supporting the security and stability of the Gulf region and the Middle East region as a pillar of an effective strategic relationship, and to reinforce regional and international security.  We reiterate our condemnation of the Israeli attack on our neighborly Qatar, and this is a violation of international law which represents a threat to the stability and security of the region, and we reiterate our utmost support of Qatar in its efforts to boost its security, to protect its people and its – and anybody staying on its land.

We would like to affirm that the Palestinian problem remains in the forefront of our policy, and our ultimate goal is to reach a comprehensive peace, and in this remark we demand increased efforts to find a two-state solution in line with international law and to lift all obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. 

As for Iraq, we highly value the efforts of the U.S. to reinforce the UN role in this regard, and we assert the importance of solving all problems with the state of Kuwait. 

We also highly value the role of the U.S. in the meetings, and we hope that the U.S.-Russian efforts would lead to a solution to the problem in Ukraine, and we would like to use constructive dialogue as a basis for resolving all conflicts.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate the importance of reinforcing our common efforts and collective work so that we can confront existing challenges and to achieve peace and security and comprehensive development in our region.  And we hope that our discussion will also identify priorities for our future work in a way that would force – push for more integration.

Thank you very much.

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Thank you very much.  To the General Secretary.

GENERAL SECRETARY AL-BUDAIWI:  I will also be speaking in Arabic.

(Via interpreter) Your Highness, Excellencies:  peace be upon you.  I am delighted to address you at this ministerial meeting between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the United States of America.  I express my sincere thanks and appreciation to His Excellency Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the United States, for the warm reception and generous hospitality, and to all participants for their steadfast commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership that spans decades of close cooperation.

Your Highness, Excellencies, distinguished guests:  In recent days our region has witnessed a highly sensitive event that endangered its security as Israel carried out a flagrant attack against the state of Qatar, an egregious violation of international law, the Charter of the United Nations, and Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.  This attack targeted residential facilities housing members of the Hamas political bureau delegation engaged in ongoing negotiations, in mediation efforts led by the state of Qatar, to reach an agreement on Gaza.

This assault resulted in the martyrdom of a security officer, civilian casualties, and endangered the lives of residents in a densely populated neighborhood surrounded by schools, diplomatic missions, and kindergartens. 

The council, while reaffirming its full solidarity with the state of Qatar and stressing that security of a GCC state is indivisible and that any attack on one is an attack on all, strongly condemns this Israeli aggression.

Your Highness, Excellencies:  The humanitarian tragedy in the Gaza Strip, the continuous aggression against the Palestinian people, the crime of genocide perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces and the deliberate blockade that has caused famine in the Strip are developments that will inevitably have grave repercussions threatening the regional and international peace and security. 

We stress the urgent necessity of reaching a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, securing the release of hostages and detainees, facilitating the unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance, and working towards a just and comprehensive settlement that leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international resolutions.

In this context, we affirm – reaffirm the importance of respecting Syria’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity; rejecting foreign interference in its internal affairs; and recognizing that Syria’s security and stability are fundamental pillars of regional stability.  We condemn the repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory and stress the necessity of adhering to the 1974 disengagement agreement.

On the Lebanese front, we reaffirm GCC’s steadfast position to support Lebanon, its sovereignty, security, and stability, and underline the importance of implementing political and economic reform to achieve the aspirations of its people – stability, prosperity, and development. 

We also stress the importance of safeguarding maritime security and waterways in the region, and of countering activities that threaten regional and international peace and stability, including attacks on commercial vessel threats to maritime navigation and international trade. 

Your Highness and Excellencies:  Our meeting today comes within the framework of a longstanding strategic partnership built on deep-rooted historical foundations that have grown and developed over past decades, aiming to foster security, stability, and prosperity at both the regional and international levels.  This direction has been embodied in five joint summits, the latest of which was the Riyadh summit in 2025 with His Excellency President Trump, which witnessed the signing of trade and investment agreements exceeding 2 trillion U.S. dollars. 

In addition to these summits, foreign ministers have held regular meetings since 2012 within the framework of the Strategic Cooperation Forum.  These meetings resulted in the establishment of 10 joint working groups in fields including air and missile defense, maritime security, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, special forces; economic, trade, and investment cooperation.  These meetings have resulted in practical projects to enhance defense and security capacities, protect maritime routes, and counter regional threats.

On the economic front, trade exchange between the two sides exceeded 120 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, supported by massive Gulf investments in U.S. economy, amounting trillions of dollars, alongside a growing presence of U.S. capital in the technology, energy, and infrastructure sectors of the GCC states. 

This relationship has also extended to education and cultural exchange with tens of thousands of Gulf students currently studying in U.S. universities and hundreds of thousands having graduated over the past six decades from the various U.S. universities.  We hope that the flow of Gulf students to these academic institutions will continue without facing any consular or procedural obstacles, especially since this cultural and academic exchange has had a tangible impact in strengthening economic and strategic cooperation and building cultural bridges between our peoples. 

On the diplomatic level, the GCC looks forward to opening diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C.  We express our hope that His Excellency Secretary Rubio will encourage the relevant U.S. authorities to expedite the completion of all procedures that would provide the necessary privileges and immunities toward this Gulf diplomatic mission. 

In conclusion, I reaffirm that our partnership with the United States is a strategic necessity that ensures security, stability, and prosperity for all.  I am confident that our meeting today will mark an important milestone in advancing this historic path.  Thank you.

SECRETARY RUBIO:  Thank you.