The 22nd meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Ministers of Information acquires importance, coming amid influx of security and political events on the regional and international levels, Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah said.
"This prompts us to make the best use of the GCC media to stress the bloc's common destiny and joint targets, in addition to the moderation of Islam for the sake of maintaining security and stability of the members states, as well as their national achievements," Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud told the meeting that kicked off here on Wednesday.
In his opening speech, Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud conveyed to the participants good wishes by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
Kuwait is hosting the meeting in the country's capacity as head of the current GCC session.
The Minister thanked the GCC Secretariat for following up the files on the agenda of the ministerial meeting "to highlight the unified GCC media view towards regional and international developments of concern to the member states." Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud noted that the meeting follows the UN honoring of His Highness the Amir as a "Humanitarian Leader" and Kuwait as a "Humanitarian Center", which is honor for the GCC as a whole.
He emphasized the need to cast off all calls instigating "enmity, sectarian or religious hatred and racism, as well as countering extremist and terrorism thoughts. I believe our GCC media is capable of achieving the mission for the huge potential and high abilities it owns." Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud also thanked the official media institutions in the GCC states for accentuating the last month international honoring of His Highness the Amir.
For his part, GCC Assistant Secretary General for Cultural and Media Affairs, Khaled Al-Ghassani expressed gratitude to His Highness the Amir, head of the current session of the GCC Supreme Council, for hosting the ministerial meeting.
He also referred to the UN unprecedented historical honoring of His Highness the Amir and Kuwait saying that each and every "GCC citizen has to boast the achievement, rarely to be repeated." The Arab World, and region, are at present facing political, security and intellectual challenges, Al-Ghassani said noting that the agenda of the GCC Summit in Kuwait last December comprised a correctional project for an inclusive media strategy.
The strategy stresses the importance of coordination among the GCC member states against counter-media that promotes lies and distort facts, Al-Ghassani said, referring to the responsibility of the bloc's media institutions to reinforce the concept of citizenness among the peoples to spare the society potential imbalances.