The decision to award the event to the Arabian Peninsula nation was announced after the 30th meeting of the GCC National Olympic Committees’ Presidents, which took place in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh.

The Presidents also held talks on other issues, including the approval of a sport umpire centre for Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) head Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa's initiative to establish a GCC Sports Dispute Committee.

A call to increase the financial allocations for GCC Sports Organising Committees' awards was among other subjects brought up at the meeting along with the organisation of a GCC annual sports day in the first week of February.

There was also a special awards ceremony to honour the GCC’s Basketball and Cycling Sports Committees, recognised as first and second best of their kind for 2015.

The 2019 GCC Games, which were awarded to Kuwait in November, were discussed as well.

Kuwait was awarded the event despite the country's suspension by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Alleged Government interference prompted the IOC to suspend the country in October - with Kuwait describing this move as "completely unacceptable".

The IOC claimed a new law threatened the autonomy of the Kuwait Olympic Committee and the country's Federations, and Kuwaiti athletes will not be able to compete at Rio 2016 under their own flag while the suspension remains in place.

Last month, two draft proposals aimed at lifting Kuwait's suspension were turned down by the country's Government.

They claim this was because the IOC demanded changes to a national law for the ban to be lifted.