In 2017, Bahrain joined Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt in imposing an illegal air, land and sea blockade on Qatar.

Qatari and Bahraini authorities announced the full restoration of diplomatic ties late on Wednesday, following a second follow-up committee meeting in Riyadh. 

In a statement, Qatar’s foreign ministry confirmed the Qatari-Bahraini Follow-up Committee held its second meeting Wednesday at the GCC headquarters in Riyadh. 

“The meeting discussed the topics on the agenda and reviewed the outcomes of the first meeting of the joint legal committee and the joint security committee. It was also decided to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries according to the principles of the United Nations Charter and the provisions of the Vienna Treaty on Dip-lomatic Relations of 1961,” the statement read. 

“The two sides affirmed that this step stems from the mutual desire to develop bilateral re-lations and enhance the Gulf unity and integration according to the GCC Charter and in re-spect of the principles of equality between states, national sovereignty and independence, territorial integrity, and good neighbourliness,” it added. 

In 2017, Bahrain joined Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt in imposing an illegal air, land and sea blockade on Qatar over claims that it supports terrorism. 

Doha dismissed those claims as baseless.

However, while all parties of the crisis came together to bury the hatchet with the signing of the Al Ula Declaration in 2021, relations between Doha and Manama had remained tense. 

Since the start of 2023, progress in ties between the two Gulf states appeared to warm. 

In January, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa met in Abu Dhabi, marking the second such meeting since the dispute erupted.

Just days after the meeting, a phone call took place between Amir Tamim and Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman Al Khalifa where they discussed “outstanding issues”.

In February, Qatar and Bahrain’s foreign ministers met for the first time since the GCC crisis to “end the pending special files between them”.