Jeddah/ QNA / 02 September 2012/ 124th Ministerial Council of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member States meeting held here on Sunday in presence of GCC Foreign Ministers. Qatar's delegation to the meeting was headed by HE Assistant Foreign Minister Ali bin Fahd Al Hajri. At the outset of the session, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz delivered a speech in which he welcomed GCC Secretary General Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani and the participants in the session in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Prince Abdulaziz stressed that the 124th session's agenda includes a number of important issues, Saudi Press Agency SPA reported. He confirmed that the situation and continuation of killing in Syria requires the attention of the council, pointing out that it is very important for the GCC Member States to apply their capabilities to achieve a quick solution to this crisis in order to stop the bloodshed in Syria and protect Syrian civilians. The meeting was briefed on a report submitted by the Secretariat General regarding the GCC transference from the phase of cooperation to union. After having discussed the matter from different points, the meeting decided to give the Secretariat General of the GCC more time and asked it to hold further consultations with the member countries prior to re-submitting the report at the GCC foreign ministers forthcoming session which will forward its recommendations on it to the GCC supreme council (summit meeting). In the economic field, the ministerial council approved the recommendations and results of ministerial committees meetings on economic issues held over the last three months. It approved the statute of the GCC statistics center. The meeting forwarded the following documents to the GCC supreme council, recommending it to accredit them in their capacity as guiding rules for two years: - draft of unified rules for placing the stocks in financial markets of the GCC - draft rules of unified declaration for securities on the financial markets of the GCC. The meeting also forwarded the draft project of establishing the Gulf Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education in GCC countries which is hosted by Muscat, Oman. The meeting authorized the GCC Secretary General to sign a draft memorandum of understanding between the GCC Secretariat General and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
