Saudi Arabia says it is beacon of 'light' against Iran despite Khashoggi crisis

Bahrain's foreign minister, Shiekh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, told the conference the Gulf bloc would remain a "pillar" of regional security and that a proposed security alliance grouping the United States, Gulf states, Jordan and Egypt would be activated next year.

The Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA) is meant to serve as a bulwark against Iran and extremism, Washington says. But there has been uncertainty about how it can get off the ground given a protracted dispute between Qatar and four Arab states led by Saudi Arabia who launched a boycott of Doha in 2017.

Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut off travel and trade ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of backing their archrival, Iran, and supporting terrorism. Qatar denies the charges and says the boycott impinges on its sovereignty.

Mattis said that it was important to end the 16-month-old Arab dispute with Qatar that analysts say has weakened regional coordination against Iran.

Jubeir said recent discussions in Saudi Arabia about a framework for MESA included Qatari officials and that the proposed alliance would not be affected by the diplomatic row.

"It (MESA) is an alliance for security and prosperity for the region and will be open to those who accept its principles," Sheikh Khalid said, adding that the alliance would also cooperate on economic issues.

Gulf Arab foreign ministers also touched on Middle East peace initiatives, with Sheikh Khalifa lauding efforts by Oman, which hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday in a rare visit.

Oman's foreign minister, Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, told the forum that Muscat was offering ideas to help Israel and the Palestinians to come together but was not acting as mediator.