The meeting will "tackle current regional developments in the wake of the fall of the Iraqi regime," Abdulrahman al-Attiya said in a statement.

The one-day meeting, to be held in Riyadh, "will also discuss the formation of an Iraqi national government to safeguard Iraq's sovereignty, unity and stability."

The chief diplomats of the six-nation alliance neighbouring Iraq will assess their countries' contribution to the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people, Attiya said.

Attiya expressed hope that the "brotherly Iraqi people will overcome this ordeal" and build a new state that "respects its neighbours and fully complies with Arab, Islamic and international charters" including pertinent UN resolutions.

The GCC states -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- have called for the Iraqi people to choose their own government and decide their future.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Wednesday also called for an end to the US-British occupation as soon as possible.

Saudi and other Gulf newspapers called Saturday for an end to lawlessness and looting in Iraqi cities, charging that US-British forces which ousted the regime of President Saddam Hussein were watching the country turn into a jungle.

SPACE.WIRE