Qatar's foreign minister to attend GCC Summit in Riyadh

Qatar State Minister for Foreign Affairs Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi will attend the annual Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) summit held in Riyadh on Sunday.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

09 December, 2018

Qatar's Foreign Minister Soltan bin Saad al-Muraikhi will attend the GCC meeting [Anadolu]

Qatar's Foreign Minister Soltan bin Saad al-Muraikhi will attend the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] meeting due to take place on Sunday, following reports that the emir of Qatar will not take up an invitation from the Saudi king, Reuters reported on Sunday.

"Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan al-Muraikhi arrived in Riyadh to lead the delegation of Qatar to the GCC summit," Qatar's director of information office Ahmed AlRumaihi announced in a tweet.

Qatar's emir received last week a written invitation from Saudi Arabia's King Salman to attend the annual Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit being held in Riyadh on 9 December, the Qatar News Agency had reported.

But an official, who asked not to be named, said on Saturday that Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani will not attend the 39th GCC summit.

The invitation had come amid signs that a Saudi-led blockade of Qatar is waning, with Doha having been able to weather sanctions enforced by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain since June 2017.

The Saudi-led bloc accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and fostering close ties with Iran - charges that Doha has strongly denied.

At last year's GCC summit - held in Kuwait, but planned for Qatar - Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain sent ministers or deputy prime ministers, rather than heads of state.