Washington, 20 June 2019 SPA -- At the invitation of the United States Department of State, the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has participated in the first meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Working Group under the umbrella of the Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA), with the participation of representatives from all GCC countries, the United States of America and Jordan. The GCC delegation was headed by Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Negotiations, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Hamad Al-Owaishek. The strategy of combating terrorism was discussed within the framework of the Strategic Alliance for the Middle East and the need to develop an implementation plan for this strategy. During the meeting, Dr. Al-Owaishek outlined the mechanisms agreed upon within the framework of the GCC and the strategic partnership between the GCC and the United States to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing the keenness of all to activate these mechanisms to contribute to the implementation of the counter-terrorism strategy in addition to the effective role being played by specialized centers established in the GCC countries to combat terrorism and extremism. -- SPA 14:10 LOCAL TIME 11:10 GMT 0007 www.spa.gov.sa/w1122565