Qatar, UAE embassies reopen after years-long rift: Doha foreign ministry

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates agreed to restore diplomatic relations after a blockade of Qatar by some of its Gulf neighbours was lifted.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff & Agencies

19 June, 2023

Qatari FM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani held a phone call with his Emirati counterpart as the two embassies reopened [Getty]

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates' respective embassies reopened on Monday to resume work after the two Gulf states agreed to restore diplomatic ties, Qatar's foreign ministry said.

The restoration of ties comes amid a broader regional push for reconciliation and more than two years after a number of Arab states ended a blockade of Doha that caused a serious rift in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Qatar, UAE Announce Restoration of Diplomatic Representation#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/LkokHj5sRr
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) June 19, 2023

The Qatari ministry said in a statement that the two foreign ministers, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, had held a phone call as the two embassies reopened on Monday.

Reuters reported in April that the two Gulf states were in the process of restoring diplomatic relations.

"[Qatar and the United Arab Emirates] underlined that this step comes as an embodiment of the will of the leaderships of the two countries, and in consolidation of the march of joint Arab action, to achieve the aspirations of the two brotherly peoples," the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

In 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed all ties with Qatar and imposed a blockade over accusations that it supported terrorism, and that it had forged closer ties with Iran.

Doha vehemently denied the charges, saying that its Gulf neighbours were trying to impose "hegemony" over it. The blockade was largely ineffective.

UAE, Qatar officials hold first meeting since Gulf dispute

MENA

Live Story

The New Arab Staff

Riyadh and Cairo were the first to reappoint ambassadors to Doha in 2021 after a Saudi-led deal to end the rift, while Bahrain has yet to reopen its embassy in Doha.

The restoration of ties also came after Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish relations after years of hostility in a Chinese-brokered deal in March, which had threatened instability in the Gulf and stoked the war in Yemen.

(Reuters and The New Arab Staff)