Riyadh, August 03, 2023, El Secretario General del Consejo de Cooperación del Golfo (CCG), Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi, hizo hincapié en la gran importancia de la asociación estratégica entre el CCG y los Estados Unidos de América (EE.UU.) para fortalecer la seguridad martima en la región y garantizar la libertad de navega y el flujo fluido del comercio internacional. This declaration was made during his encounter with Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), the U.S. 5th Fleet, and the Combined Maritime Forces today at the headquarters of the GCC General Secretariat in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, we delved into various pressing matters concerning maritime security in the Arab Gulf region. Our aim was to fortify the collaboration between the GCC and the United States while also fostering partnerships with international and regional allies. The Secretary-General of the GCC emphasized the utmost significance of this collaborative effort in safeguarding the security of waterways and maritime navigation, ensuring unfettered freedom of navigation and unimpeded trade flow for the nations of this region and beyond. Furthermore, Albudaiwi underscored that the issue of maritime security holds utmost importance within the context of the strategic alliance with the United States. Additionally, he emphasized that this is clearly demonstrated by the establishment of a dedicated task force in 2015, whose participants gather periodically to reach consensus on essential measures to bolster collaboration between both parties in the realm of maritime security. The significance of this alliance has been emphasized by the consecutive GCC-U.S. summits, such as the one that took place in July 2022 in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the joint ministerial meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the GCC countries and the U.S. in June 2023. During these meetings, there was a strong emphasis on the need to uphold navigational rights and freedoms as well as the collective endeavor to tackle security threats faced by ships in the region's waterways, as highlighted by the GCC Secretary-General.