愛污传媒

Skip to main content

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

In this photo released by Qatar Amiri Diwan, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, right, greats UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan upon his arrival at the Hamad airport in Doha, Qatar, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (Qatar Amiri Diwan via AP) In this photo released by Qatar Amiri Diwan, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, right, greats UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan upon his arrival at the Hamad airport in Doha, Qatar, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (Qatar Amiri Diwan via AP)
Share
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar announced the reopening of their embassies on Monday following a yearslong rift.

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.

The two countries' foreign ministers spoke by phone to congratulate one another on the reopening of the diplomatic missions, Qatar said.

The UAE joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt in imposing a boycott and blockade of Qatar in 2017, in large part over its engagement with and support of Islamist groups across the Middle East that gained power immediately after the Arab Spring protests in 2011. The other Arab countries in the Persian Gulf view such groups as terrorists -- including Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which won free and fair elections but was ousted after a year's divisive rule.

Qatar, which like the other Arab countries is a close ally of the United States, has repeatedly denied supporting terror groups. It has also served as a key intermediary in U.S. negotiations with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Afghan Taliban.

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.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said America congratulated the two nations for a move that represented "another important step forward among our Gulf Cooperation Council partners to promote regional stability and mutual cooperation."

The GCC includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

"The United States is fully committed to working with the GCC and other regional partners to build a more secure, integrated, peaceful, and prosperous Middle East region," Miller said in the statement.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.

Four people are dead and another is in hospital after a Tesla driving through downtown Toronto at a high rate of speed crashed into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar on Lake Shore Boulevard.

Montreal police say four teenagers suffered stab wounds after an altercation near John F. Kennedy High School in the city's Villeray鈥擲aint-Michel鈥擯arc-Extension borough on Thursday.

The Ottawa Police Service has identified the woman who was stabbed to death at Paul Landry Park on Uplands Drive Thursday morning.

Local Spotlight

A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.