UAE and Qatar reopen embassies after 6 years

Following a years-long rift over Qatar’s support for Islamist militants, the UAE, and Qatar announced the restoration of their embassies on Monday.

The Qatari Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Qatari Consulate in Dubai, as well as the Emirati Embassy in Qatar’s capital, Doha, issued statements stating that activities have resumed. The remarks did not specify whether ambassadors were present or whether the missions were open to the public.

According to Qatar, the two countries foreign ministers spoke by phone to congratulate each other on the reopening of diplomatic missions.

In 2017, the UAE joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt in putting a boycott and blockade on Qatar due to its support for Islamist groups across the Middle East that rose to power during the Arab Spring demonstrations. Other Arab Gulf countries consider similar organizations to be terrorists, including Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which won free and fair elections.

Fears of armed confrontation arose as a result of the extraordinary diplomatic crisis among the generally cordial Gulf Arab countries. However, Qatar’s gas wealth and close links to Turkey and Iran shielded it from the economic sanctions, and relations gradually warmed.

In January 2021, the boycott was officially lifted. Qatar hosted the World Cup late last year, and it welcomed visiting leaders from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.

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