TURKEY, GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL ADOPT JOINT ACTION PLAN

KUWAIT CITY (A.A) - 18.10.2010 - Turkey and the Cooperation Council for The Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) ratified on Monday a joint action plan in Kuwait.
The action plan covers 2011 and 2012 and envisages cooperation on trade, investments, agriculture, food safety, transportation, energy, culture, health, tourism, education and environment.
The foreign ministers of Turkey and GCC held their second meeting in Kuwait City, expressed their common views on regional and international issues, and released a joint declaration at the end of their meeting.
In their declaration, foreign ministers expressed their determination to conclude a free trade agreement as soon as possible. 
The ministers underlined importance of preservation of Iraq's independence, unity and territorial integrity, and expressed their hope that a national compromise government would be set up in that country. 
In the declaration, the ministers said the Israeli government was responsible for a suspension in direct negotiations regarding Palestine, and a peace in the Middle East could be possible if Israel totally withdrew from the Arab territories it had occupied. 
The ministers called on Israel to urgently end its policies to demolish Palestinians' houses, construct walls and force the Palestinians to leave their places. 
Also, the ministers strongly condemned last May's Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed nine people. 
The foreign ministers expressed their desire that the Middle East would be deprived of nuclear weapons, and welcomed international efforts aiming to find a diplomatic and peaceful solution to Iran's nuclear file.
In their declaration, the ministers called on international arena to lift embargoes on Turkish Cypriots, condemned terrorism and said terrorism should not be associated with any religion, ethnicity or nationality.
The foreign ministers also condemned PKK terrorism and extended full support to Turkey's fight against terrorism.
Foreign ministers of Turkey and GCC member states will hold their next meeting in Ankara in May 2011.