UAE, Qatar reopen embassies as Gulf Arab relations improve after a yearslong rift

The UAE and Qatar on Monday announced resuming operations of their respective embassies following six-year-long rift in ties. Arab nations boycotted Qatar over its support for Islamist groups in 2017.

The restoration of ties comes amid a broader regional push for reconciliation and more than two years after Arab states ended a boycott of Doha that had shattered the Western-allied Gulf Arab bloc, Reuters reported. 

The two countries issued statements saying the Qatari Embassy in Abu Dhabi and a Qatari Consulate in Dubai, as well as an Emirati Embassy in Qatar's capital, Doha, had resumed operations. The statements did not say if ambassadors were in place or if the missions were open to the public.

In a statement, UAE said, “Based on Al-Ula agreement and the joint keeness on strengthening the bilateral relations, the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar announced the restoration of diplomatic representation between the two countries by resuming the work at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Doha, and at the Embassy of State of Qatar in Abu Dhabi and its consulate in Dubai as of Monday, June 19, 2023.” 

The statement said the countries underlined that this step comes as embodiment of the will of the leaderships of the two nations, “and in consolidation of the march joint Arab action, to achieve the aspirations of the two brotherly people.”

Qatar in a statement said foreign ministers of both countries spoke over the phone to congratulate one another on the reopening of the diplomatic missions.

The UAE joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt in imposing a boycott and blockade of Qatar in 2017 over alleged charges that it was supporting Islamist groups and forged close ties with Iran. However, Doha denied the allegations. The other Arab countries in the Persian Gulf view such groups as terrorists - including Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which won free and fair elections.

The unprecedented diplomatic crisis among the normally friendly Gulf Arab countries initially sparked fears of armed conflict. But Qatar's gas riches, and close ties to Turkey and Iran, largely insulated it from the economic sanctions, and relations slowly thawed.

The boycott was officially lifted in January 2021. Late last year, Qatar welcomed visiting leaders from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE as it hosted soccer's World Cup.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt were the first countries to reopen embassies and reappoint ambassadors to Qatar. 

(With PTI inputs.)