Qatar-UAE to resume diplomatic relations with embassies ‘reopening by June’

Two years after the Al-Ula agreement, Qatar and the UAE are set to reestablish their diplomatic relationships.

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are currently in the process of resuming diplomatic relations, an Emirati official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The two Gulf states could reopen embassies and diplomatic missions by mid June, the official said, while another source said relations could resume “within weeks”.

“At present, the activation of diplomatic ties, which will include the reopening of embassies, is under process between both countries,” the UAE official told Reuters.

Qatari authorities have yet to announce such a move, however it comes more than two years after the Al Ula Accord was signed to bring to an end the region’s worst political crisis.

The rift between Qatar and its neighbouring countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt, began in mid-2017 when quarter cut ties with Doha, citing accusations of supporting terrorism and a close relationship with to Iran.

Qatar had vehemently rejected the claims and dismissed them as “baseless”.

While the 2021 accord buried the hatchet, not all nations involved warmed up at the same pace. Riyadh and Cairo were the first to return their ambassadors to Doha while Bahrain only announced the full restoration of diplomatic ties last week.

While all nations except for Bahrain had already restored trade and travel links with Qatar in early 2021, the UAE had suggested that resuming diplomatic ties would take time.

However, relations between the UAE and Qatar began to warm in 2022, with the leaders of both countries meeting face-to-face for the first time.

Last month, the UAE also unblocked several Qatari news websites including include Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English, Qatar’s state news agency (QNA) and The New Arab.

The latest developments also come amid major regional shifts, including reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia as well as the launch of peace talks between Riyadh and the Houthis to pave the way for the end of the eight-year conflict in Yemen.