Trade, transport between GCC, Qatar could resume within a week – official

Trade, travel and transportation ties could be resolved between Qatar and GCC countries within a week, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash has said.

“We realise that some issues are easier to fix. Some will take longer,” said Gargash, adding “We expect to move very quickly on other issues.”

The “UAE is behind this deal, positive about re-establishing relations with Qatar within the GCC context,” he added.

Legal cases that Qatar filed against the UAE will also be suspended. “With two parties reconciling, it is natural that legal cases will also be dropped,” he said, addressing the media on January 7.

Dr Gargash said he expects that the GCC “will go back to its full vitality” on the diplomatic front.

Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states agreed to fully restore ties with neighbouring Qatar earlier this week, after a sustained US push for the countries to unite against Iran.

Read: Gulf Arab states agree to restore Qatar ties, end three-year rift

The breakthrough in ending a dispute that erupted in 2017 came just two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office after pledging a new start with Tehran.

“From the hall of mirrors in Al-Ula, a bright new page begins,” Anwar Gargash had tweeted, on the signing of the Al-Ula agreement.

من قاعة المرايا في العُلا تبدأ صفحة جديدة مشرقة pic.twitter.com/zSz9l68EFX

— د. أنور قرقاش (@AnwarGargash) January 5, 2021