MEPs in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain promote strategic partnership with Gulf states

A delegation of seven MEPs visited Riyadh and Manama on 3 and 4 May expressing unreserved solidarity with the people of the Gulf.

In Saudi Arabia, the delegation held talks with Adel Bin Ahmed al-Jubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and member of the Council of Ministers, and Mishaal Al-Sulami, Vice Speaker of the Shura ‎Council. In Bahrain, delegation members met with Abdullatif Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Bin Saleh Al Saleh, Chairman of the Shura Council, and Ahmed bin Salman Al-Musallam, Speaker of the Council of Representatives. The delegation also met with the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jassem Al Budaiwi.

The MEPs condemned, in the strongest possible terms, Iran's indiscriminate attacks against GCC states, underlining the growing strategic importance of the EU-GCC partnership. They stressed that any lasting settlement of the conflict in the region must go beyond the current ceasefire. It must comprehensively and durably address Iran's nuclear programme, its ballistic missile and drone capabilities, and its regional destabilisation through proxies. These are not peripheral issues - they are central to any credible and lasting peace, said MEPs. The delegation also underlined that the full restoration of safe and unimpeded passage through the Strait of Hormuz remains a matter of urgency - for the Gulf, for Europe, and for the world.

In both Riyadh and Manama, the delegation reaffirmed the EU's commitment to deepening its strategic partnership with the Gulf. Members highlighted the dual digital and energy transition, transport and connectivity, security, and clean technologies as priority areas for reinforced cooperation, and looked forward to continued close engagement with the Gulf countries in the months ahead.

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Head of mission Reinhold Lopatka, who also chairs the delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula said: “This visit sends an unambiguous message: the European Union stands unreservedly in solidarity with the people of the Gulf. At a time of grave crisis, parliamentary diplomacy has a vital role to play in reinforcing the EU-GCC strategic partnership and demonstrating that this relationship is built on shared values and mutual commitment."