JEDDAH, 19 December 2002 — Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal will head the Saudi delegation to the 23rd GCC summit beginning in Doha on Saturday, Okaz newspaper reported yesterday.
Prince Saud will arrive in Doha tomorrow to participate in the final preparatory meeting of the Gulf foreign ministers who will put the final touches to the summit agenda, Okaz quoted an informed diplomatic source as saying.
While Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd chaired the Riyadh summit in 1999, Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, headed the Kingdom’s delegations to summits in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001.
Meanwhile, King Hamad of Bahrain announced that he would stay away from the summit. He will be represented at the summit by his foreign minister.
