Qatar’s emir to attend GCC summit

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will attend this week’s Gulf Cooperation Council Summit despite a rift between the country and members of the group.

Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani confirmed on Sunday that the country planned to attend a ministerial meeting on Monday and the wider summit on December 5 and 6, according to reports.

“The ministerial meeting will be attended tomorrow, and [for] the summit, God willing, the emir,” he was quoted as saying.

There was speculation that the summit would be postponed amid a wider rift between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE.

Read: GCC summit to go ahead despite Qatar row, diplomats say

The three countries closed economic and diplomatic ties with Qatar in June after accusing the country of supporting terrorism.

The 38th summit is being held in Kuwait, which has acted as a mediator in the dispute.

There was no immediate comment from the other Gulf states following the Qatari announcement.

Bahrain’s foreign minister said in October that the country would not attend the GCC summit unless Qatar changed its stance.

Read: Bahrain foreign minister calls for freezing Qatar out of GCC