The six Middle Eastern nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Saudi Arabia, Bahrein, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar - are united with the United States' position on freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. On the occasion of yesterday's ministerial meeting in Manama between the USA and the CCG, which was chaired by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bahrein and current President of the Ministerial Council of the CCG, a joint declaration was signed in which, among other things, "the importance of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuzdi

In the declaration it is underlined that "the ministers have rejected any toll, fee or attempt to exercise control over the Strait and have welcomed the announcement of the Sultanate of Oman and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) concerning the start of an evacuation plan for more than 11,000 seafarers blocked in the region. The ministers also emphasized that any commercial and investment activity with Iran is revoked and subordinate to the respect by Iran of the memorandum of understanding and the final agreement, the cessation of its destabilizing behaviour and the creation of the conditions necessary for economic collaboration".