UAE and Qatar hold first talks after al-Ula summit reconciliation

Delegations from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar met in Kuwait on Monday (22 February) for the first time since an agreement last month to end a rift of more than three years, the UAE state news agency WAM said.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt agreed in January at a summit in Saudi’s al-Ula to restore diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Doha, which had been severed in 2017 over accusations that Qatar supported terrorism, a charge it denies.

“The two sides discussed joint mechanisms and procedures for implementing the al-Ula statement. They emphasised the importance of preserving Gulf kinship and developing joint Gulf action in the interest of GCC countries and their citizens, and of achieving stability and prosperity in the region,” according to WAM.

They thanked Saudi and Kuwait for their roles in ending the rift.

Since the agreement, air and travel links have resumed between Qatar and the four states. Each state is to arrange bilateral talks with Qatar to resolve individual issues.

source: commospace.eu with Reuters (London) and WAM (Abu Dhabi)
photo: Area map courtesy of Al Jazeera (Doha)

 

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
Thirty Armenian members of the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups meet in Yerevan

Thirty Armenian members of the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups meet in Yerevan

Yesterday (23 September) around thirty Armenians involved in the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups gathered in Yerevan to be briefed by Leonid Narsisian, co-Chair of the thematic group on Peace and Security; Narek Minasyan, Chair of the thematic group on regional connectivity; Sargis Harutyunyan, Chair of the thematic group on Governance; Aghavni Harutyunyan, Deputy Chair of the thematic group on Environment; and Andranik Shirinyan, Deputy Chair of the thematic group on gender and diversity. The Thematic Groups are a LINKS Europe initiative aimed at promoting a new style of Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue, fit for the new reality. They will present their five reports in mid-November. We were delighted to welcome to the meeting in Yerevan, Murad Muradov, Azerbaijani co-Chair of the thematic group on peace and security who also spoke. Others to address the meeting included Erik Jessen, Political Officer at the EU Delegation in Armenia, Stepan Grigoryan, Senior Member of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Expert Strategic Platform (under the auspices of LINKS Europe), and Dennis Sammut, Director and George Simonishvili, South Caucasus coordinator, of LINKS Europe. It was a very good and engaging meeting, also attended by representatives of various embassies, including HE Marieke Monroy-Winter, the Ambassador of The Netherlands. A similar meeting with Azerbaijani members will take place in Baku on Friday (26 September). The Armenian and Azerbaijani members have been meeting on line since April. On 27 October they will meet together in Tbilisi to finalise their work.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
Thirty Armenian members of the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups meet in Yerevan

Thirty Armenian members of the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups meet in Yerevan

Yesterday (23 September) around thirty Armenians involved in the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups gathered in Yerevan to be briefed by Leonid Narsisian, co-Chair of the thematic group on Peace and Security; Narek Minasyan, Chair of the thematic group on regional connectivity; Sargis Harutyunyan, Chair of the thematic group on Governance; Aghavni Harutyunyan, Deputy Chair of the thematic group on Environment; and Andranik Shirinyan, Deputy Chair of the thematic group on gender and diversity. The Thematic Groups are a LINKS Europe initiative aimed at promoting a new style of Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue, fit for the new reality. They will present their five reports in mid-November. We were delighted to welcome to the meeting in Yerevan, Murad Muradov, Azerbaijani co-Chair of the thematic group on peace and security who also spoke. Others to address the meeting included Erik Jessen, Political Officer at the EU Delegation in Armenia, Stepan Grigoryan, Senior Member of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Expert Strategic Platform (under the auspices of LINKS Europe), and Dennis Sammut, Director and George Simonishvili, South Caucasus coordinator, of LINKS Europe. It was a very good and engaging meeting, also attended by representatives of various embassies, including HE Marieke Monroy-Winter, the Ambassador of The Netherlands. A similar meeting with Azerbaijani members will take place in Baku on Friday (26 September). The Armenian and Azerbaijani members have been meeting on line since April. On 27 October they will meet together in Tbilisi to finalise their work.