"The one-day meeting will discuss a range of regional and international issues with special reference to security in the Gulf, the Middle East peace process and regional solidarity," said GCC Secretary-General Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah.

Al-Attiyah said many other subjects of common concern will also be discussed at the 12th GCC consultative summit, adding that the Gulf leaders have no specific agenda.

The meeting represents an occasion to review all joint actions and cooperation at the political, economic, security, military, social and cultural levels, he added.

The Gulf leaders are also likely to discuss military cooperation and the formation of a Gulf rapid-deployment force. The proposed force is to be formed with a mandate to combat any foreign aggression and support stability in the world's largest oil exporting region.

The meeting has been convened only a week before the ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which is to be held in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) on May 18. That meeting will be attended by OIC foreign ministers, including Iran’s Manouchehr Mottaki.

A GCC official, who asked not to be named, said the controversial Iranian nuclear program is expected to be addressed at the Riyadh summit amid concerns from the Gulf countries that a standoff between Iran and the West could lead to a regional conflict.

Tuesday’s consultative meeting comes within the framework of the decision taken by the GCC Supreme Council in 1998 that called for the holding of half-yearly consultative sessions.

The GCC official said he hopes the decisions reached at the summit would boost joint programs and actions to achieve solidarity and unity. The first consultative meeting of Gulf leaders took place in Jeddah in May 1999. The 11th consultative meeting held here last year took several important steps to unify the plans and policies of the GCC as a bloc, including the formation of the monetary council.