Saudi Arabia reinstates envoy to Qatar in restoration of ties

Riyadh is one of the first Arab governments to re-establish relations with Doha

Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, right, receives a copy of the credentials of Saudi ambassador Prince Mansour bin Khalid. AFP

Saudi Arabia on Sunday reinstated its ambassador to Qatar, Prince Mansour bin Khalid, taking the lead among the four GCC nations to re-establish relations after ending a dispute with Doha this year.

Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani assured Prince Mansour of "all support to advance bilateral relations to achieve closer co-operation in various fields", the Qatar Foreign Ministry said.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting militant groups. Qatar denied the claims.

The dispute was resolved in January and an agreement was reached to restore political, trade and travel links. Saudi Arabia re-opened its embassy in Doha this year.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told the World Economic Forum in January that it was important for GCC members to fully co-operate with each other.

A united GCC will help in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

On January 5, senior officials, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim, met for the 41st GCC summit and signed Al Ula declaration to re-establish ties.

The move followed efforts backed by the Gulf countries and the US to end the three-year crisis.

Since then, the countries have opened up their air spaces to each other and some flights have resumed.