Monday’s meeting saw the two nations discuss how inter-border travel can be facilitated through the exchange of audit data.

A meeting was held between a Qatari and Saudi Arabian delegation to discuss an action plan for seamless inter-border travel procedures.

In a post via X on Monday, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said the meeting took place at Doha’s General Directorate of Passports headquarters.

Qatar’s Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Atiq Al Dosari — who is also the nation’s Director General of Passports —led the Qatari delegation. At the start of the meeting, he welcomed his Saudi counterparts to their “second home”.

The Saudi delegation was headed by the Kingdom’s Director General of Passports, Lieutenant General Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al Yahya.

According to Qatar News Agency, the two parties deliberated over audit data between Qatar’s Abu Samra border crossing and Saudi’s Salwa land port.

Monday’s meeting follows an initial inking of an action plan on December 25 2023, which outlined the future cooperation between the two Gulf nations in terms of security, as well as easing travel procedures to and fro the two border crossings, the Peninsula Qatar reported.

December’s signing ceremony took place in Saudi’s financial hub, Riyadh, and was attended by Qatar’s Minister of Interior and Commander of the Internal Security Force, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

There, Sheikh Khalifa met with his Saudi counterpart, the Kingdom’s Minister of Interior, Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Qatar-KSA cultural cooperation

Beyond travel and security, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have also inked a cultural cooperation.

In November 2023, QNA reported that a memorandum of understanding was ratified between the nations, outlining the future of the KSA’s cultural cooperation with Qatar.

In the report, QNA said: “The MoU includes joint cooperation between the two brotherly countries to enhance collaboration in various cultural fields, including heritage, architecture and design, museums, visual arts, theater and performing arts, literature, publishing, translation, fashion, culinary arts, and films.”

The cooperation would include the interlending of artwork and artefacts, as well as joint participation in various cultural fields, QNA added.

The two Gulf states will also share their experiential expertise relating to heritage preservation, as well as the local implementation of  United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization agreements.

This will see a free flow of expert delegations travelling to and fro Qatar and the KSA.

The cooperation is further set to ameliorate the two countries’ community of experienced professionals with the collaborative conducting of workshops, training programmes and seminars.