Qatar and Bahrain announced the resumption of their diplomatic relations
This combination of file photos shows Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (L) and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci and Hussein Malla, File)
Qatar and Bahrain will resume diplomatic relations, as both the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) and the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed on Wednesday. The decision to resume diplomatic relations comes more than two years after the lifting of the Arab boycott imposed on Qatar, according to Reuters. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt ended, in January 2021, a three and a half-year embargo on Qatar. All these countries except Bahrain will have restored travel and trade links in 2021. On Wednesday, the Bahrain-Qatar Monitoring Committee held its second meeting at the General Secretariat of the Gulf Coordination Council (GCC) in the Saudi capital, where the decision was made, the two countries said in separate statements. In January, the crown prince of Bahrain spoke by phone with the emir of Qatar, a sign that the two Gulf States were moving towards restoring relations.
The conflict that led to the severing of ties with Qatar in 2017 centered on the country’s support for Islamist movements seen as a threat by its Arab neighbors and its ties to Shiite Muslim powers Iran and Turkey. The four states also had their own disagreements with Qatar. Saudi Arabia, as a regional power, led the efforts to restore ties with Qatar and, together with Egypt, restored diplomatic relations. Bahrain, a Sunni Muslim-ruled monarchy with a restive Shiite population, is deeply troubled by Qatar’s relationship with Iran. Bahrain also has territorial disputes with Qatar. “The United States has been working since the start of the Biden administration to encourage regional integration, de-escalation, and rapprochement between U.S. partners. A fully unified Gulf Cooperation Council, of which Bahrain and Qatar are key members, is also an important step towards establishing a more stable and prosperous Middle East region,” he said in a statement. “The United States looks forward to working with all of our partners as we advance this shared vision of a more integrated, stable, and prosperous region, which ultimately serves the interests of the United States and the American people.”
By Cora Sulleyman
