At the outset of the meeting, Al-Jubeir welcomed Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassem Al Thani, who is making his debut in the GCC foreign ministers gathering as foreign minister of Qatar, paying tribute to the great role played by his predecessor Dr. Khalid Al-Atiyyah. Al-Jubeir also welcomed the participation of Dr. Nasser Judah, Deputy Premier and foreign minister of Jordan, and ambassador Mohammed Al-Azraq, who represents Moroccan foreign minister in the meeting. The host minister said "this meeting comes as a continuation of previous constructive meetings amid the prudent instructions of their majesty and highnesses the leaders of our countries to discuss ways of enhancing the historic ties binding our countries and peoples and the mechanisms of current cooperation among them". He went on to say that "the continuation of these meetings confirm once more the will to enhance the firm ties among us and to proceed forward towards achieving a distinguished strategic partnership and benefit from our diversified abilities and invest them in achieving our interest according to agreed joint plans to promote cooperation in all fields". Al-Jubeir said "today's meeting provides a chance to continue consultation on the issues witnessed by our region and their accelerating developments so as to coordinate our positions in dealing with those challenges with all their repercussions and reflections on the security of our region and the world at large, wishing the meeting every success". --More 16:30 LOCAL TIME 13:30 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w