Social Development Ministry Undersecretary attends 11th meeting of GCC Undersecretaries of Social Affairs

Zeyad Adel Darwish, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Social Development, attended the 11th meeting of the Committee of Undersecretaries of Social Affairs and Development Ministries of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Khalid Amer Al Ajmi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs of the State of Kuwait and current committee chair. It included participation from undersecretaries of all GCC member states and attendance by Khalid bin Ali bin Salim Al Sunaidi, GCC Assistant Secretary of Economic and Development Affairs.

The committee approved recommendations to be submitted to the upcoming ministers’ meeting. 


These included adopting the Gulf Strategy for Combating Drugs (2025 – 2028), following up on previous meeting decisions, action plans for the committee, joint volunteer work (2026–2030), shared charity and humanitarian efforts (2025–2030), disability rights, quality of life measures, digital inclusion for elders, and issues regarding children and artificial intelligence.

Representatives from the Ministry of Social Development also took part in the Gulf Family Forum held alongside the meeting.


Representatives from the ministry presented a working paper titled "The Family’s Role in Protecting Children from Online Extortion."

The paper highlighted key signs for parents to watch for early detection of potential online extortion of their children. 


It covered safe online behaviours, means to handle such situations, supervisory tools, and means to enhance parental authority. 


The paper also reviewed Bahrain’s experience in training families to face the risks of online extortion.