British Premier Theresa May also joined the summit with the aim of pushing talks on trade after Britain's exit from the European Union.
The Gulf leaders gathered for a summit in Bahrain with His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, calling upon Arabs to continue embracing the spirit of tolerance and brotherhood.
British Premier Theresa May also joined the summit with the aim of pushing talks on trade after Britain's exit from the European Union.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, opened the summit with a call for "doubling of efforts" to face regional challenges.
Calling the summit a milestone for the Gulf States, Shaikh Mohammed tweeted that the GCC is a source of stability for the region.
"We attend with high hopes and optimism for our countries, peoples and futures," he added.
On the sidelines, Shaikh Mohammed received the British prime minister and discussed several issues related to the historic friendship between the two nations and ways of enhancing them, especially in renewable energy, tourism and banking.
Shaikh Mohammed stressed the importance of boosting trade relations. The UAE is the fourth strategic trade partner of the UK and about 1.5 million British tourists visit the country.
May confirmed the UK's participation in Expo 2020 Dubai, pointing out her government's support for the international event.
May's two-day visit comes as her government faces mounting domestic criticism that it has not done enough to avoid post-Brexit disruption to British trade, which is currently carried out under EU agreements.
"I will have the opportunity to talk to all six leaders about how we can develop our trade relationship, as well as cooperation on security and defence," May said before her arrival in Manama late on Monday.
Her office said May will discuss the possibilities for post-Brexit free trade arrangements with the GCC states. "As the UK leaves the EU, we should seize the opportunity to forge a new trade arrangement between the UK and the Gulf," the prime minister said.
In October last year, Britain began building a naval base at Mina Salman, outside Manama, its first new permanent base in the Middle East in four decades.
May later told 300 Royal Navy officers aboard HMS Ocean that she wanted to "step up our defence and security cooperation to keep British citizens safe at home and abroad".
Britain's force already stationed in Bahrain was "a clear demonstration of the UK's enduring security commitment to the Gulf", she said.
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