Qatar and Bahrain have reconciled their differences after a fight that lasted for years and are working to restore diplomatic ties. According to two separate announcements released by the two countries’ ministries of foreign affairs, delegates from both nations met on Wednesday at the offices of the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. According to a statement released by Qatar’s foreign ministry, the purpose of the meeting was to “improve the Gulf unity and integration in accordance with the GCC Charter.”
Ahmed bin Hassan al-Hammadi, the Secretary-General of Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, recently met with Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the Undersecretary for Political Affairs at Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to explore ways to end a dispute that dates back to 2017. It was in that year when Bahrain, together with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt, slapped a diplomatic blockade on Qatar due to charges that it was too close to Iran and supported hardline organizations, allegations that Doha has always vehemently rejected. In January, the crown prince of Bahrain and the emir of Qatar spoke over the phone to address their disagreements, an action that was a step towards warming ties between the two countries. Along with severing commercial ties, the four Arab nations have prohibited Qatari aircraft and vessels from utilizing their skies and waterways.
Nevertheless, in 2021, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt renewed these ties. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar, on the other hand, have not yet opened their separate embassies. The majority of Bahrain and Qatar’s disagreements centered on Qatar’s connection with Iran as well as problems along their maritime boundary. The mending of fences takes place in the midst of a number of other initiatives aimed at settling regional disagreements, such as the one between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
