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GCC Security Council, UAE, Saudi FMs welcomes Bahrain-Qatar diplomatic ties
The GCC Security Council and the foreign ministries of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have welcomed the resumption of diplomatic ties between Bahrain and Qatar.
The two GCC states announced Wednesday they will resume their diplomatic relations, in statements carried by both Bahrain news agency (BNA) and the Qatari foreign ministry.
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The move comes over two years after an Arab boycott of Qatar was lifted.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt in January 2021 ended a three-and-a-half year embargo of Qatar but all but Bahrain restored travel and trade links in 2021.
On Wednesday, the Bahraini-Qatari Follow-up Committee held its second meeting at the headquarters of the GCC General Secretariat in the Saudi capital where the decision was made, the two countries said in separate statements.
Saudi Arabia has led efforts to rebuild ties with Qatar and, along with Egypt, re-established diplomatic relations.
On Friday, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi welcomed the resumption of diplomatic ties between Bahrain and the Qatar.
He said it stems from the directives of the leaders of the GCC countries that were issued at the "Sultan Qaboos and Sheikh Sabah Summit", which was held in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, in January 2021, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Friday.
He added that those instructions “embody the GCC leaders' keenness to secure the future and protect the cohesion of the Council in line with key attributes of the links connecting the Council member states, including the bonds of kinship, friendship, brotherhood, history and common destiny, and unity which are the pillars of the GCC”, SPA said.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also welcomed the reestablishment of ties, SPA said.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs applauds this constructive step, which affirms the robustness of relations among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and advances joint Gulf action that achieves the aspirations of the region's states and peoples,” it reported.
The UAE’s state news agency WAM also carried a statement from Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, who also welcomed the efforts to establish ties.
He said that it is an important step towards supporting the efforts to advance joint Gulf action, for a “brighter future for the GCC countries to achieve prosperity and benefit the two nations in serving their common interests”, WAM reported.
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