Qatar and Bahrain to resume diplomatic ties

Qatar and Bahrain will resume their diplomatic ties, both Bahrain News Agency (BNA) and the Qatari foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The move comes over two years after an Arab boycott of Qatar was lifted.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt in January 2021 ended a 3-1/2-year embargo of Qatar but all but Bahrain restored travel and trade links in 2021.

On Wednesday, the Bahraini-Qatari Follow-up Committee held its second meeting at the headquarters of the GCC General Secretariat in the Saudi capital where the decision was made, the two countries said in separate statements.

In January, Bahrain’s crown prince spoke with Qatar’s emir by telephone, in a sign the two Gulf states were moving towards repairing relations.

Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia has led efforts to rebuild ties with Qatar and, along with Egypt, re-established diplomatic relations.