TEHRAN, Dec 2: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend this week’s summit of six US-allied Gulf Arab states in Qatar, Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday, saying it could help boost regional cooperation.

It was the first time an Iranian president had been invited to a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.

The GCC groups Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.

Hosseini said Ahmadinejad had been invited to the Dec 3-4 meeting in Doha by Qatar Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, but the spokesman did not specify in what capacity the president would be there or for how long.

“This is the first time that the Council has invited an Iranian president ... and this is an important event,” Hosseini told a weekly news conference.

He said the presence of Ahmadinejad at the summit could be an “important step” in promoting cooperation in the Gulf.—Reuters