After a tense six years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar have decided to reestablish diplomatic ties and restore their embassies.
On Monday, both countries published statements declaring that their embassies and consulates had reopened. This included the Qatari embassy in Abu Dhabi and a Qatari consulate in Dubai, as well as the Emirati embassy in Doha.
The remarks did not specify whether or not ambassadors had been appointed or whether or not public access was granted to the embassies.
According to Qatar, the two countries’ foreign ministers spoke by phone to express their happiness over the reopening of the embassies.
According to a statement published by the UAE’s official WAM news agency, “The United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar announced the restoration of diplomatic representation between the two countries.”
Accusing Qatar of aiding “terrorist” organisations and growing too close to Iran, the UAE joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt in a boycott and embargo of Doha in 2017. Qatar has categorically refuted all of the charges against it.
With its gas wealth and strong ties to Turkey and Iran, Qatar was able to weather the unprecedented diplomatic crisis.
In January of 2021, the boycott was formally ended. Qatar held the FIFA World Cup at the end of last year, and during that time it received leaders from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.
Putting an end to Gulf wars in UAE
Turkey, which had supported Qatar during the crisis, has reconciled with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
After Saudi Arabia and Iran declared in March that they were restoring ties after seven years, the reopening of diplomatic offices coincided with a cooling of tensions in the Gulf. After then, a string of peace agreements were signed, including one in April between Qatar and Bahrain.
On Saturday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan visited Iran, meeting with President Ebrahim Raisi in an important step towards improved relations between the two countries. The Iranian embassy in Riyadh reopened this month.
Since they have traditionally competed for regional power by supporting opposing sides in situations like Yemen’s, the recent thawing of relations between Riyadh and Tehran seems historic. Syria rejoined the Arab League this month, after a 12-year absence.
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