DOHA (Dispatches) – The Qatari-Bahraini Follow-up Committee has held its first meeting at the headquarters of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh to discuss ending outstanding issues between the two countries.
The Qatari side was chaired by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed al-Hammadi, while the Bahraini delegation was headed by the Undersecretary for International Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Abdulla Al Khalifah.
According to the Bahrain News Agency (BNA), they affirmed that “the meeting embodies the directives of the leaderships of the two countries and their keenness to protect the future and entity of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council and preserve its gains.”
The meeting discussed the necessary procedures and mechanisms and ways to ensure the success of the bilateral talks to end the outstanding issues between the two countries in a way that achieves the interests of both nations.
The two sides agreed to hold periodic and continuous meetings with the aim of achieving the desired goals.
Despite the end of the Persian Gulf regional crisis in early 2021, differences between Doha and Manama continued.
In January 2021, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt signed a declaration on the eve of the GCC leaders’ summit in the ancient desert city of Al-Ula, to ease a rift with Qatar, signaling the end of a three and a half year embargo of the energy-rich country.
In June 2017, the four countries accused Qatar, among other things, of supporting “terrorism” and severed economic and diplomatic ties. A blockade was also imposed by the four countries by land, sea and air.
Qatar repeatedly denied the claims and said there was no justification for severing relations.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has accused social media platforms of driving a wedge between his country and the Persian Gulf states, especially the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Speaking during a roundtable held on the sidelines of the World Government Summit (WGS) in the UAE, Sisi said: “Without the support of our brethren in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Egypt would not have stood up again.”
The president went on to single out Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, highlighting his management of oil and fuel aid shipments to Cairo since 2013.