Gulf States Sign Solidarity And Stability Deal At Gcc Summit

Gulf leaders have signed a ‘solidarity and stability’ agreement to end their three-year diplomatic rift with Qatar at a summit in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said.

The leaders are meeting in Saudi Arabia for their annual summit on Tuesday amid a breakthrough in the long-running dispute between a Saudi-led bloc and Qatar.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia announced the reopening of land borders with Qatar after a three and a half-year rift that saw the kingdom, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade ties, and impose a land, sea and air blockade on the Gulf state.

“These efforts helped us reach the agreement of the Al-Ula statement that will be signed at this summit, where we affirm our Gulf, Arab and Islamic solidarity and stability,” the crown prince told the meeting, thanking the United States and Kuwait for their mediation.

“There is a desperate need today to unite our efforts to promote our region and to confront challenges that surround us, especially the threats posed by the Iranian regime’s nuclear and ballistic missile programme and its plans for sabotage and destruction.”

Leaders of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council signed two documents, the Al-Ula declaration, named after the Saudi city where the summit was held, and a final communique.

Their contents were not immediately released but hopes for a deal to end the impasse were raised overnight when Saudi announced it would open its borders to Doha despite lingering issues between the neighbours.

 

SOURCE TIMESKUWAIT

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