Sheikh Tamim has not but confirmed whether or not he’ll attend the GCC summit in Saudi Arabia on January 5.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) says Qatar’s chief has been invited to the bloc’s summit assembly subsequent week amid efforts to heal rifts between Doha and a Saudi-led alliance.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani acquired a proper invitation from Saudi King Salman to the January 5 summit assembly of the six-nation GCC in Saudi Arabia, delivered by GCC Secretary-Common Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf.
GCC SG H.E. Dr. Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf, delivered in the present day an invite from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of Qatar, to attend the #GCCSUMMIT41 being held in KSA on Jan 5, 2021.https://t.co/oFAwUJSVLV pic.twitter.com/1CvRneUfbr
— مجلس التعاون (@GCCSG) December 30, 2020
It’s not clear if Sheikh Tamim – who was invited to the final summit however declined, sending then-Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani as a substitute – will attend subsequent month’s summit.
Along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the GCC consists of Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In June 2017, Saudi Arabia and its allies the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar, saying it was funding “terrorist” teams and was too near Iran
Qatar has repeatedly denied the allegations and mentioned there was “no legit justification” for the severance of relations.
After severing ties, the 4 nations issued a listing of 13 calls for for Qatar, together with that it shut down the Al Jazeera Media Community.
The Saudi-led quartet subsequently pressured Qataris residing and dealing of their nations to go away, closed their airspace to Qatari plane and sealed their borders and ports, separating some mixed-nationality households.
Sheikh Tamim’s participation would sign an easing of divisions.
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s cupboard mentioned it “wished for a profitable summit to boost joint motion and enhanced cooperation between the nation members,” in line with an announcement on the official Saudi Press Company.
It follows feedback earlier this month by Saudi Overseas Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan who mentioned {that a} decision was in sight.
Egypt and the UAE have since given their public assist to the negotiations, though diplomatic sources say the UAE has been reluctant to compromise.
On Sunday, the overseas ministers of the GCC held a digital assembly the place they mentioned “cooperation” forward of the GCC summit.
In the course of the assembly, Bahrain’s Overseas Minister Abdellatif al-Zayani expressed confidence “in Saudi Arabia’s capacity to discover a answer to the dispute throughout the Gulf”.
Belief-building measures
Based on a Gulf official near the negotiations, it’s unlikely the summit will ship a complete settlement however would fairly end in trust-building measures, together with the potential of opening up the airspace.
The potential thaw comes forward of the January 20 inauguration of the subsequent US president, Joe Biden, who is anticipated to welcome the decision of a disaster that has undercut US efforts to rein in its arch-enemy, Iran.
Earlier this week, Qatar’s Overseas Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned the disaster over the cellphone.
“We consider that resolving the dispute is within the curiosity of all events within the area, in addition to within the curiosity of the US,” a US Division of State official mentioned.
Qatar has instructed Kuwait and the US that any decision of the dispute have to be based mostly on mutual respect.