Saudi-Qatar rapprochement and future of Gulf: Shafaqna Exclusive

by Tauqeer Abbas
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After a rift that has fractured the Arab world and tested American diplomacy for more than three years, Saudi Arabia agreed to reopen its borders and airspace to Qatar on Monday night after boycotting it since 2017, Kuwaiti, Qatari and American officials said Monday. The agreement announced Monday would allow for commerce and travel between Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the first time since the four countries blockaded Qatar in June 2017, accusing its rulers of supporting terrorism and Islamists in the region, and of getting too close to Iran, their enemy.

Qatar has long practiced an ambitious foreign policy different than Arab states and has been accused of cozying to Iran and supporting groups such the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. This has angered its Arab neighbours and eventually, after Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, they served all ties in 2017. Qatar’s only land border was closed, ships were banned from docking at many port and the airspace was closed.It needs to be seen how lifting the blockade will change policies in the region. It is unlikely that Qatar will downgrade ties with Iran or Turkey. These three countries along with former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad even attempted to build a parallel initiative before being sabotaged by the Gulf countries.

Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s de facto leader, forged close ties with the Trump White House and the president stood by the crown prince as Riyadh grappled with its worst diplomatic crisis in decades after Saudi agents murdered Jamal Khashoggi two years ago. But the incoming administration of president-elect Joe Biden is expected to be far cooler towards the young royal who has drawn widespread criticism from Democrats over the killing of Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen and the detention of scores of activists, businessmen and senior royals.

“This is a gift for Biden,” said an adviser to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He added that Prince Mohammed “feels like he’s in the line of fire” after Mr Biden’s election victory and wants a deal with Qatar to “signal he is willing and ready to take steps”. Ali Shihabi, a Saudi analyst close to the royal court, said the Saudi leadership had for months been “open to put this issue to bed”. “For some time, they have been working on closing many hot files and clearly this is one,” he said.

While the detente is a positive development, questions remain over the intentions. If the motive is to improve regional relations by adhering to the principle of Gulf solidarity, then the move should be welcomed. However, if the alliance is being nudged to form a united front to confront Iran, then there would be reason to worry. Speaking at the ceremony, the Saudi crown prince reinforced the need for unity to confront the “Iranian regime’s … plans for sabotage and destruction”. It should be noted that one of Riyadh’s major complaints against Doha was that the latter was moving closer to Iran and Turkey, both states major rivals of the Arab bloc for regional influence.

Moreover, the establishment of relations between the UAE and Bahrain with Israel has also complicated matters, considering Tehran’s long-standing opposition to Tel Aviv. Iranian leaders have said that any attack on their country will be answered with strikes on US interests in the region. Most of the Gulf monarchies host American military bases of various descriptions. It is hoped that his rapprochement would bring stability in the region and it would not be a part of any nefarious design against Iran.

Shafaqna Pakistan

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