Gulf Cooperation Council

President Nicos Anastasiades begins an official visit to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday at the invitation of King Salman.

The United Arab Emirates on Dec. 5 announced it has formed a new economic and partnership group with Saudi Arabia, separate from the Gulf Cooperation Council - a move that could undermine the council amid a diplomatic crisis with member state Qatar.

Qatar, isolated by its neighbors in a diplomatic crisis, on Aug. 9 introduced a visa-free entry program for 80 nationalities to stimulate air transport and tourism.

"The visa exemption scheme will make Qatar the most open country in the region," tourism department official Hassan al-Ibrahim told a news conference in Doha.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi is on a working visit to Bulgaria today within his Balkan tour, reported 24 Chasa Newspaper.

Sultan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi is one of the most prominent representatives of the Qatari diplomatic service and is the second senior officer of the Foreign Ministry of Qatar.

He was part of the Crown Prince's office.

Talking over the phone with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has received that political dialogue and understanding are key for guaranteeing peace and stability in the Persian Gulf and that contradictions between Qatar and other countries in the region should be settled by using diplomacy exclusively, reported ''24 Chasa'' newspaper. 

Qatar has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over an "illegal siege" imposed by its Gulf neighbors, the commerce ministry said on July 31.

The network of the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen has been mentioned in the U.S. State Department's annual report, the Country Reports on Terrorism 2016, for the first time, while not listing it among terrorist groups operating in Turkey.   

The United Arab Emirates warned Qatar on July 17 that it could not belong to the Gulf Cooperation Council if it undermined regional security, calling for a "change of behavior" but not "regime change."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian held talks with top officials in Kuwait on July 16 in a bid to bolster the emirate's attempts to mediate in the Gulf crisis.

Ratings agency Moody's has downgraded Qatar's economic outlook as political uncertainty swirled ahead of a crunch meeting between Arab nations on Wednesday in Cairo.