Gulf States to Resume Trade, Air Links With #Qatar in Days - Bloomberg

Gulf States to Resume Trade, Air Links With Qatar in Days - Bloomberg

Gulf states expect to open their airspace to Qatar and resume trade with the natural-gas powerhouse within a week of the Jan. 5 signing of an accord ending their rift, a senior United Arab Emirates minister said Thursday.

The agreement signed in Saudi Arabia at a summit of Gulf leaders has “a note about ending measures within a week,” Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in a virtual media briefing, referring to the air and trade measures.

Under the accord, four Arab states including the UAE agreed to fully restore ties with Qatar, ending a three-year dispute that divided the energy-producing region at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and its Gulf allies and Iran.

The deal came two weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, who has pledged to reengage diplomatically with Tehran. Details of the pact weren’t made public but Gargash said it included clauses on respecting each other’s sovereignty and addressing extremism and terrorism.