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Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world, but it has been isolated for three years: Saudi Arabia and other neighboring countries imposed a blockade. He accuses Qatar of supporting extremists. Now there is apparently a turning point.
More than three years after a blockade against Qatar began, Saudi Arabia and its allies appear to be resolving their dispute with the emirate. Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Nassir al-Mohammed al-Sabah said, according to a report by the state Kuna agency, that the countries had agreed to open their border traffic. There is still no official statement from the affected countries.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the Emirates closed borders with the country on a peninsula in June 2017 and imposed a complete blockade. Later Egypt joined. The countries accuse Qatar of supporting extremists.
Approach one day before the summit
Qatar denied the accusations. The blockade hit the Gulf state mainly economically. Qatar Airways was no longer allowed to use the airspace of the four states. In addition, all diplomatic and commercial relations and transportation routes were cut off, and families of different nationalities were separated.
Kuwait had played a role as a mediator in the conflict. The lifting of the embargo by Saudi Arabia paves the way for Qatari representatives to attend a summit meeting of the Gulf states, which begins Tuesday under the presidency of Saudi King Salman.
According to Salman, the objective of the meeting is to return the States to the path of unity and solidarity with a view to the challenges of the region. Initially, there were no comments from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain on the announcement from Saudi Arabia.
Over and over, complaints about the human rights situation
Qatar is host to the 2022 World Cup and is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of per capita income. The country is the world’s largest exporter of liquefied gas and wants to increase its production significantly.
At the same time, Qatar is criticized for its human rights situation, especially when it comes to dealing with migrant workers. According to Amnesty International, two of the approximately 2.4 million people are migrant workers, most of whom come from poor countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and India.