Will the Al-Ula GCC summit herald a new era of regional cooperation?
By Aditi Bhaduri
The 41st GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) summit that was held on n 5-6 January 2021 is set to start a new chapter of intra-GCC relations. Held in the ancient Saudi city of Al-Ula, the summit witnessed a rapprochement in the relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on one hand and Qatar on the other.
Ties had ruptured between the two sides three years ago in 2017, on allegations by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE that Qatar was encouraging radical and terrorist forced n the region. A land and sea blockade had been imposed by the former, along with Egypt, on Qatar, paving the way for closer cooperation between arch rivals Iran and Turkey with Qatar.
Over the past three years Kuwait and Oman, the other two GCC members, as also the US had expended sufficient diplomatic endeavours to bridge the gulf between the two opposing blocs.
Also read: Libya, Turkey, Qatar defense cooperation: will conflict in Libya continue?
The final push came from the outgoing Donald Trump administration as Presidential advisor Jared Kushner engaged in shuttle diplomacy in the region to attend a breakthrough.
Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East.
It is widely believed that weakening economies because of Covid-19, and the possibility of an incoming Democrat President Biden administration removing sanctions from Iran, which had been imposed by Trump, have brought about a breakthrough. The blockade had cost Qatar billions of dollars and paved the way for its close economic cooperation with Iran and both economic and military cooperation with Turkey.
Signalling the rapprochement the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman invited and both recieved and saw off Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani who attended the summit at the airport.
The two leaders also held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit. “During the meeting, they reviewed the bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries, and ways to enhance joint Gulf action,” a statement released by the Saudi Press Agency said.
In turn, the Qatari emir sent two telegrams to King Salman and the crown prince to thank them for their warm welcome and hospitality during the summit.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAR and Egypt, which is not a GCC mrmber, but attended the summit and has close ties with the former three announced an end to the blockade of Qatar.
The statement that was adopted in Al Ula at the end of the summit reflefted
However, since none of demands that were initially imposed on Qatar by the Saudi-led alliance has been met, it remains to be seen how the rapprochement actually pans out. Nevertheless, major traction on the economic front is expected.
