UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, has revealed he is “very optimistic” after joining Saudi Arabia and Egypt in signing an accord with Qatar, ending a “rift” that he said has “consumed the GCC over the last three, three-and-a-half years”.
At a summit of regional leaders in the northwestern Saudi town of Al Ula, the states were able to find a “resolution to all areas of difference,” and agreed to a “restoration of all diplomatic ties,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told reporters on Tuesday. “It will be a strong and important foundation to the future of the region and its stability.”
In an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson on ‘Connect the World’, Gargash said it was a “good agreement” with a “good framework” and he believed the implementation process will be done “quite quickly” in many of the measures.
He said: “We are confident. We are looking forward enthusiastically, but, you know, as you always know the proof is in the pudding, and we hope that we will work together moving forward to ensure that such a disruptive rift, one that we’ve all gone through, should not reoccur through transparency and through working together to address these issues.”
Saudi Arabia reopened its airspace and land and sea borders to Qatar on Monday, a key breakthrough, ahead of Tuesday’s historic meeting between the GCC leaders.
While the six-member GCC had seen earlier disputes over four decades, the 2017 split cut deepest. The four boycotting nations accused Doha of meddling in their internal affairs, supporting hardline Islamist groups and building ties with Iran. Qatar denied the charges.
Gargash said the Saudi-led bloc’s 13 demands on Qatar made more than three years ago to end the Gulf stand-off were a “maximalist negotiating position”.
“I think what we end up to deal with is general outlines that basically govern relations between states that our party – to the same organisation, the GCC, and in the case of Egypt, also a member of the Arab League,” he said.
“So these are what I would call general outlines of how this relationship will move on, and I think we’re very satisfied with this. And we want to build on it, and we want to look to the future building on this, and ensuring that in this very turbulent region that the GCC is more solid.”
The GCC states were able to find a “resolution to all areas of difference” at a summit of regional leaders in the northwestern Saudi town of Al Ula
Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, travelled to Saudi Arabia to witness the signing.
Gargash praised the role played by the US in the resolution and also commended the integral part Kuwait played in brokering the deal.
He said: “It has not been an easy process, but indeed a successful one.
“But I think the important thing that the GCC, today from Al-Ula is sending, it’s a message of unity, and it’s a message where the GCC seeks what I would say, peaceful orientation with all its neighbours. But at the same time, refute any sort of interference in its affairs. This is also a clause that was in the GCC statement today that came out of Al-Ula.”
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