"The EU is determined to explore further ways of cooperation with the GCC and its members, both on regional and global issues, including green and digital transition and post-Covid-19 recovery", said a statement issued by the European External Action Service after the meeting.

Kuwait will commence the first steps in a government restructuring plan in which some ministries will be merged while others will be abolished. The restructuring plan will stretch over the next four years and is aimed at changing the role of the government "from an operator to an organiser". 

Armenia is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its independence but whilst it has all the attributes of a modern state a lot of its institutions are hollow. There is much that can be done, and if it acts reasonably, Armenia can celebrate its 50th anniversary of independence in twenty years’ time in a much more positive atmosphere, writes Benyamin Poghosyan in this anniversary op-ed. 

Leaders of the EU Mediterranean countries met in Athens on Friday to discuss climate change and regional security. The summit of southern EU states was established in 2016 by Cyprus, France, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain. This year, Croatia and Slovenia joined for the first time to discuss issues ranging from the pandemic response to migration and the crisis in Afghanistan.

After the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director admitted that the agency had “a major communication breakdown” with Iran, a meeting resulted in an interim agreement to store monitoring data. The Iranian nuclear talks are expected to resume but the determination of actors to reach a deal is not yet clear.