Eurasia Press & News
The meeting was a further sign of improving relations between the Gulf states, who did not have relations from 2017 to January 2021.
Qatar’s ambassador in Riyadh held a meeting with a top Saudi diplomat Tuesday.
Ambassador Bandar bin Mohammed al-Attiyah and the Saudi Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political and Economic Affairs Eid bin Mohammed al-Thaqafi discussed enhancing cooperation and bilateral ties between their countries, according to a release from the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The move is the latest sign in improving Saudi-Qatar relations, which have been strained in recent years. In 2017, Saudi Arabia along with allies the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties and closed their borders with Qatar. The so-called terror quartet alleged that Qatar was supporting terrorism, which Qatar denied. The dispute related to Qatar’s friendly relations with the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran.
In January, the Gulf states signed a “solidarity and stability” deal that formally ended the feud. The agreement was brokered by Kuwait, which remained neutral during the crisis.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been normalizing since then. Saudi Arabia named an ambassador to Qatar in June. Attiyah assumed his ambassadorship in August.
