Diplomacy

The UN Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, who has served as the main UN negotiator for peace in Yemen, is set to leave his post after serving for more than three years. He is due to take more senior responsibilities as a UN undersecretary-general for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday (10 May) hosted in the Saudi city port of Jeddah the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as the two countries put behind them past differences.

Intensive efforts are continuing as negotiations entered the fourth round in Vienna to bring Iran and the United States back to a nuclear agreement. Multiple reports suggest ‘positive’ developments coming out of Vienna as negotiators achieved a better understanding of difficulties that had prevailed in earlier rounds. These difficulties revolved around which sanctions are to be lifted and which measured are needed to be taken by Iran.

This year, faced by the challenges of the pandemic and its social and economic consequences, European leaders meeting at an informal summit in Porto, hosted by the current Portuguese Presidency of the EU, focused on social issues, including on how to ensure an inclusive recovery, with education and skills at the heart of the EU's political action.

The European Commission will stop efforts to approve the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) between China and the European Union (EU). European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, said that approval for the CAI is complicated due to recent EU-China relations. 

The Qatari Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, said that he welcomed any dialogue and positive spirit that concerns Iran's relations with the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia in particular. Al Thani stressed Doha's support for such dialogue and said he was certain that dialogue will have a significant impact on regional stability. 

According to the Portuguese minister of foreign affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, the 27-nation bloc wants to restart talks on three agreements: protection of geographical indication, reciprocal investments, and a pact to foster Indo-European trade. Portugal will host the summit on Saturday in Porto.

Welcoming the Georgian prime minister at the presidential complex in Baku, President Ilham Aliyev said, "Relations between our peoples are based on a long history, a history of good neighborliness and friendship that has lasted for centuries."

"This decision is the latest, striking demonstration of how the Russian Federation has chosen confrontation with the EU instead of agreeing to redress the negative trajectory of our bilateral relations", a joint statement issued by the three main EU institutions said on Friday.