Resumption of Qatar-UAE ties points to positive signs

The resumption of diplomatic relations between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates signals a positive atmosphere of de-escalation, a regional strategy pursued by Gulf countries amid broadening peace-building efforts, analysts said.

The diplomatic thaw is the latest in a series of headline-grabbing rapprochements following a China-brokered peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March.

Last month, Bahrain's Civil Aviation Affairs announced that flights between Bahrain and Qatar would resume on May 25, after the two countries decided in April to restore their diplomatic ties.

Clemens Chay, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore's Middle East Institute, said past differences between the UAE and Qatar have been "ideological", but Abu Dhabi has already shown its willingness to push ahead with reconciliation, albeit gradually, with the restoration of air links.

"The resumption of official diplomatic representation took longer as the UAE, in line with its conciliatory foreign policy, felt necessary to pace the mending of fences in tandem with Bahrain's policies," Chay said.

"Certainly, there is a clear appetite for regional de-escalation in the Middle East, but the drive emanating from the Gulf states remains the strongest."

On June 19, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that "based on the Al-Ula agreement and the joint keenness on strengthening the bilateral relations", Qatar and the UAE would restore diplomatic relations by reopening the Qatari embassy in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi and its consulate in Dubai, as well as the UAE embassy in Doha on the same day.

In a similar statement, the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two sides "underlined that this step comes as the embodiment of the will of the leadership of the two countries".

Rasha Al Joundy, senior researcher at the Dubai Public Policy Research Centre in the UAE, said the announcement of the restoration of UAE-Qatar relations itself "was not surprising" since it is considered part of many previous steps taken toward this goal.

She said UAE-Qatar relations can be seen as part of a general inclination to adopt a de-escalation strategy in the region. For instance, she said all the GCC and regional countries are working together for the first time to back an Arab-Iran peace-building effort.

The 2021 Al-Ula agreement among Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries — UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman — at the 41st GCC Summit in Saudi Arabia ended a three-year boycott of Qatar that was imposed in June 2017 for Doha's alleged backing of terrorist groups and activities, which it has always denied.

However, due to a lack of consensus on some issues, normalization efforts between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors had been delayed.

Chay said Qatar's hosting of the FIFA World Cup last year also provided the region's leaders with "a positive outlook for cooperation".

"What is also noteworthy is that previous meetings between senior officials from both sides, whether in the region or on the sidelines of other set-piece meetings, also focused on trade and investment projects, which should shift into greater focus going forward," Chay said.