UAE and Qatar reopen embassies as ties improve after years of rift

UAE and Qatar reopen embassies as ties improve after years of rift

Subject : International Relations

Section: International events

Concept :

• The United Arab Emirates and Qatar have announced the reopening of their embassies on Monday following a years long rift over Qatar’s support of Islamist groups.

Background

• The UAE joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt in imposing a boycott and blockade of Qatar in 2017 over its support for Islamist groups across the Middle East that gained power immediately after the Arab Spring protests.
• The other Arab countries in the Persian Gulf view such groups as terrorists – including Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which won free and fair elections.
• The unprecedented diplomatic crisis among the normally friendly Gulf Arab countries initially sparked fears of armed conflict. But Qatar’s gas riches, and close ties to Turkey and Iran, largely insulated it from the economic sanctions, and relations slowly thawed.

Gulf Cooperation Council

• The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a political and economic alliance of six countries in the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
• Established in 1981, the GCC promotes economic, security, cultural and social cooperation between the six states and holds a summit every year to discuss cooperation and regional affairs.
• All current member states are monarchies, including three constitutional monarchies (Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain), two absolute monarchies(Saudi Arabia and Oman), and one federal monarchy (the United Arab Emirates).

Structure:

• The GCC comprises six main branches that carry out various tasks, from the preparation of meetings to the implementation of policies.
• They are- Supreme Council, Ministerial Council, Secretariat-General, Consultative Commission, Commission for the Settlement of Disputes and the Secretary-General.

Role of GCC today:

• Whether the GCC still has a relevant function and role in the region is questionable. Though it was created for the purpose of solidifying union ranks, the blockade imposed on Qatar by its neighbours has largely annulled these principles.
• The Gulf states have in the past differed in their views on several issues that have unfolded in the region over the past two decades. The role of the GCC has also been diminishing ever since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, with the six states illustrating various approaches to the war and its consequences.
• This has been enhanced during the wave of protests that swept the Middle East in 2011, known as the Arab Spring. Saudi Arabia has gained a dominant role within the GCC today.