Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani paid an official visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday. This visit came as the first of its kind since the two Gulf countries have reached an agreement in January to end the years-long political conflict.
On his arrival, Qatar’s ruler was greeted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
According to Qatar’s official news agency, bilateral relations and the ways to boost them in various fields were discussed during the meeting, which was held between the Qatari Emir and Saudi Crown Prince. The Israeli violence against Palestinians in Jerusalem and issues related to Iran were other agenda items during the meeting.
Alongside the Qatari delegation accompanying the Emir, high-level Saudi government officials, including the Minister of State Prince Turki bin Mohammed, Deputy Minister of Defence Prince Khalid bin Salman, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, were also present during the meeting.
The meeting came upon the official invitation of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, which was delivered by Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan during his visit to Qatar last month.
After the two countries reached an agreement at the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit to end the three-year dispute, they have been working on restoring ties. The visit also came as a part of these efforts. In this sense, the two countries established a working committee to determine how the provisions of the Al-Ula Declaration are implemented, and the second meeting of this committee was held last week in Doha.
Besides, the first diplomatic meeting between the two countries was held in Doha in February. Also, the Saudi embassy in Doha is expected to reopen in the upcoming period. This was announced by Saudi Foreign Minister in January, saying, “Our embassy will be reopened in Doha within days after completing the necessary procedures.” Yet, any update in this regard has not been observed so far.
