Kuwait Times, Wednesday, Jan 6, 2021 | Jamadi Al Awwal 22, 1442
Gulf states sign ‘solidarity and stability’ agreement
Kuwait:
Gulf leaders signed a “solidarity and stability” deal yesterday after the
leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar publicly embraced, bringing Doha back into the
regional fold after a three-year rift. Saudi Arabia had led a coalition of
countries in the Gulf and beyond to cut ties and transport links with Qatar in
June 2017, charging that it was too close to Iran and backed radical Islamist
groups – allegations Doha denied.
Those countries, along with Oman and Kuwait which have mediated between the two
sides, signed a rapprochement deal in the Saudi city of Al-Ula, after Riyadh
overnight re-opened its land, sea and air borders to Doha. Saudi foreign
minister later said full ties have been restored between Qatar and the four
nations that had severed relations with Doha. “What happened today is… the
closure of the folder of all points of difference and a full return of
diplomatic relations,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a press conference at the
conclusion of the landmark regional summit.
HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah congratulated GCC
leaders for concluding the Al-Ula Declaration, which “reminds us of huge
endeavors” late Amir HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah made to make this
declaration possible. “As I congratulate you on this historic achievement, the
signing of Al-Ula Declaration, we remember the faithful and constructive role of
His Highness the late Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah … who hugely
contributed to the success of this agreement,” HH the Amir said in a speech.
The Amir also thanked US President Donald Trump and his advisor Jared Kushner
for contributing to the “noble objective” and concluding the agreement. He
appreciated keenness of the leaders of the GCC and Egypt to exert further
efforts to achieve aspirations of the people. “Calling our declaration the
solidarity agreement reflects our keenness and conviction in its importance, and
it reflects on the other hand our conviction that restoring it is a continuation
of our desire for unity of our Arab nation,” he said.
HH the Amir expressed gratitude to the Saudi King and his government for naming
the Summit the summit of “Sultan Qaboos and Sheikh Sabah” in appreciation of the
two Gulf leaders’ service of Arab and Islamic causes. Sheikh Nawaf also thanked
King Salman bin Abdulaziz, his government and people for hosting the GCC summit,
welcomed Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri and commended Cairo’s support
for the security and stability of the region. He also welcomed Arab League
Secretary General Ahmad Abul Gheit and Secretary General of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Yusuf Al-Othaimeen.
“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 program and its plans for
sabotage and destruction,” said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Al-Ula
Declaration “affirms our Gulf, Arab and Islamic solidarity and stability”, he
told the meeting, in comments echoed by other leaders.
The details of the agreement were not immediately released. But the warm welcome
Prince Mohammed extended to Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, with
the pair embracing at the airport and then chatting animatedly, indicates a
significant breakthrough.
Sheikh Tamim, visiting Saudi for the first time since the crisis began, was
whisked with the other leaders through Al-Ula’s dramatic Martian landscape to
the shimmering Maraya Concert Hall, a mirrored structure situated in a nearby
valley. Later, Saudi state media tweeted a photo of the young Saudi leader
behind the wheel of his sports utility vehicle, taking Sheikh Tamim on a tour of
the area.
Saudi state media said Prince Mohammed met separately with Sheikh Tamim after
the pair publicly embraced at the airport. “During the meeting, they reviewed
bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries and ways of
consolidating the Gulf Cooperation Council joint action,” the official Saudi
Press Agency said.
“These are first steps or a first phase of reconciliation that will be followed
by other steps. Some may belittle that progress, but resuming open direct
communication and avoiding verbal attacks is progress,” said Kuwait University
assistant professor Bader Al-Saif. “The other states… will follow suit and
pursue similar reconciliatory steps.”
Saudi commentators appeared on Doha-based broadcaster Al Jazeera for the first
time in years, and a major Saudi media group deleted the song “Teach Qatar” –
which details its supposed failings -from its YouTube channel. “It is amusing to
see so many analysts and journalists try to pour cold water over this important
development,” tweeted author and commentator Ali Shihabi. “Understandable since
the gravy train of funding for many of them will likely end. A whole industry
had emerged to take advantage of this split and that will dry up.”
Washington had intensified pressure for a resolution to what Doha calls a
“blockade”, insisting Gulf unity is necessary to isolate US foe Iran as the
curtain falls on Trump’s presidency. Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior
adviser who shuttled around the region to seek a deal, attended the signing in
Al-Ula. “The Trump administration will claim this as another victory for sure,”
said Royal United Services Institute analyst Tobias Borck.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah announced on
state television Monday that an agreement had been struck to open all the
borders between Saudi and Qatar with immediate effect. Drivers south of Doha on
the usually calm Salwa highway towards the Saudi border at Abu Samra sounded
their horns and waved their arms from their car windows in the wake of the
announcement, an AFP correspondent reported.
“We will see all Saudis here, also all Qataris will visit Saudi Arabia, and we
will be friends as we were before and better,” said Hisham Al-Hashmi, a Qatari
with an Emirati mother, who wore a traditional thobe and winter headdress. Saudi
media, which is influential throughout the region, quickly adopted a tone in
stark contrast to past coverage of Qatar which had focused on past
transgressions and alleged crimes, instead talking about “unity” and
“fraternity”.
The Saudi-led GCC hawks, along with Egypt, in 2017 closed their airspace to
Qatari planes, sealed their borders and ports, and expelled Qatari citizens. An
information battle raged online with the two camps trading barbs, deepening the
resentments. However, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, who
is also the ruler of Dubai, said the summit had brought unity to the region.
“The changes and challenges surrounding us require strength, cohesion and real
Gulf cooperation,” he tweeted.