19 June 2023; MEMO: Qatar and the UAE have announced today that they have resumed full diplomatic relations, with the reopening of their respective embassies. Qatar's Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Consulate in Dubai, as well as the UAE Embassy in Doha have now resumed operations.
The restoration of ties comes two years after the Al-Ula summit, which brought an end to the Saudi-led blockade against Doha, which triggered the Gulf diplomatic crisis between Qatar and several neighbouring Gulf Arab states as well as Egypt. Bahrain is yet to reopen its embassy in Doha, but ties have also thawed, the two having resumed relations in April.
According to a statement by the Qatari foreign ministry, the two Foreign Ministers, Qatar's Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and the UAE's Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed, spoke to each other on the phone as the two embassies reopened earlier today.
The UAE foreign ministry added that the move was done based on "the keenness of the two countries to strengthen bilateral relations."
The moves comes against the backdrop of other diplomatic developments in the region, including the decision by Saudi Arabia to reopen its embassy in Iran, amid growing rapprochement between the kingdom and the theocracy.
