GCC chief Al Zayani urges efforts to combat pollution

26 December 2014

Relevant resolutions by the GCC Supreme Council have constituted milestones in the environmental work and the efforts to achieve sustainable development.

Creating a safe, stable, flourishing and sustainable environment in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is a major goal the bloc is seeking to achieve, Secretary-General of GCC Abdullatif Al Zayani said on Thursday.

Al Zayani urged further efforts to combat pollution of GCC’s water resources and improve water quality.

Addressing the opening session of 18th meeting of ministers in charge of environment affairs in the GCC which opened on Thursday, Al Zayani stressed that environment remains at the centre of attention of the GCC leaders since the establishment of the bloc.

He added that relevant resolutions by the GCC Supreme Council have constituted milestones in the environmental work and the efforts to achieve sustainable development and economic and social stability.

Al Zayani made note of the Regional Radiological and Nuclear Emergency Preparedness and Response (RRNEPR) Plan, which is being developed by the Kuwait-based GCC Emergency Management Centre, to improve the region’s preparedness and response to radiological and nuclear events in the region. The plan was endorsed by the GCC 133th meeting of the ministerial council held in Doha in the lead up to the latest GCC Summit.

The GCC Secretariat and the Emergency Management Centre, in September organised a workshop in which some 70 experts assessed regional risks including pollution of the region’s water resources.