Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have proved that they are stronger than before thanks to their shared vision of security, stability and unity, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Nizar Madani said during the 10th session of the Gulf Conference in Manama, Bahrain.

During the meeting, Gulf states, along with Middle Eastern and other nations, discussed vital security issues, mostly pertaining to the threat posed by terrorism in the region and how to prevent it from spreading.

According to Madani, the Gulf states have overcome new and difficult challenges thanks to their citizens' awareness. The future framework for the Gulf countries' security depends on continuing accumulative expertise and their capability of adapting to changes, the official said, while confirming the importance of continuing with regional development.

Speaking of regional conflicts like the one in Syria and Iraq, the minister said that neighboring countries shouldn’t interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, but should instead join the Gulf states in fighting sectarianism and extremism.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jafari stressed the importance of peaceful dialogue to fight evil powers like the Islamic State, which lures young people into terrorism.

Al-Jafari said Iraqis are fighting to the best of their ability but this doesn’t mean that there is no need for support from other countries, whether logistic or military.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the current crisis in the region is of international concern and stability can only be achieved through cooperation. IS now has an estimated 30,000 fighters in its ranks, the French defense minister added.

Ali Al-Ahmadi, Yemen's chief of National Security Bureau, said terrorism is a source of danger to all nations, and urged all countries to join in the fight against Al-Qaeda.

During the fourth session of the forum, Secretary-General for the GCC Abdulatif Al-Zayani discussed the importance of developing collective and effective work for strategic and security issues.

He warned against extremism saying it has become quite clear that many young people have joined the ranks of terrorists. Canadian Foreign Minister John Bird said that sectarianism comes in many forms and threatens minorities. For the Canadian minister, the solution lies in pluralism, an objective which has become very difficult to achieve.

According to Bird, IS poses a real danger to various parts of the world and there is need for collective work to fight terrorism through security coordination with various partners in the region.