Saudi king invites Qatari emir to attend GCC summit

By Serdar Bitmez and Safiye Karabacak

DOHA

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Tuesday invited Qatari Emir Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to attend 39th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Dec. 9.

According to Qatar’s state-run news agency QNA, the emir received an official invitation from the Saudi king.

The invitation letter was delivered by GCC Secretary General Abdullatif al-Zayyani to Qatar’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Soltan bin Saad al-Muraikhi, the news agency said.

A six-nation bloc of oil-rich Arab Gulf states, the GCC is composed of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.

In June of last year, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain collectively severed ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism, a charge Qatar denies.