MANAMA: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified the article published by the Financial Times titled “Gulf led states launch joint command to counter ISIS and Iran” published on November 30, which attributed to Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Foreign Affairs certain statements concerning a proposed joint GCC military command.
The Ministry wishes to make clear that, in an interview with an FT journalist, the Minister gave examples of regional security challenges requiring joint cooperation among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, and reaffirmed their shared determination to work together to counter any threat to the integrity and security of the GCC. The Minister clearly was not seeking to set out any mandate for a GCC joint command, or to claim that it was to “counter” any other regional country. In any event, such issues are matters for GCC defence ministers.
In this context, the Ministry hopes that future reports will more accurately reflect the content and intention of such interviews.