The meeting came two weeks after Sheikh Tahnoun, who is also the UAE’s national security adviser, visited Qatar.
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, and the United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, discussed bilateral cooperation and regional developments in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
The meeting at Qasr Al Shati saw the attendance of Qatar’s Minister of Interior, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and Abu Dhabi’s deputy ruler, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to the UAE’s news agency (WAM).
Qatar’s foreign ministry and WAM said the meeting dealt with cooperation relations between Doha and Abu Dhabi in addition to regional developments, without providing further details on the meeting.
“His Highness and the Qatari Prime Minister discussed the fraternal relations between the two countries and ways to enhance cooperation and joint work for the benefit of both nations and the achievement of their mutual interests,” WAM reported.
The meeting came two weeks after Sheikh Tahnoun, who is also the UAE’s national security adviser, visited Qatar.
The latest meeting in Abu Dhabi comes as the region seeks an end to Israel’s war on Gaza which has exceeded three months. Since October 7, Israel has killed at least 22,722 Palestinians in Gaza while injuring 58,166 others, according to the latest figures by the Strip’s health authorities.
Qatar, the host of a Hamas political office, alongside Egypt, have been at the forefront of de-escalation efforts in Gaza. Neighbouring UAE has maintained ties with Israel since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020.
Doha and Cairo’s mediation had resulted in the temporary truce that lasted between November 24 and December 1 following two extensions under wider efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire.
The pause led to the release of at least 110 Israeli and foreign captives from Gaza, according to a Doha News tally. As part of the deal, Israel released 240 Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons.
Israel said on Thursday that it believes there are 136 hostages still in Gaza, up from an initial estimate of 129.
The negotiations over another deal have continued following the killing of Hamas’s senior leader Saleh Al-Arouri in Beirut last week. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, despite vowing to assassinate all Hamas leaders even on other sovereign territories.
Qatar-UAE ties development
The increased interactions between the neighbouring countries’ officials come as they strengthen their diplomatic ties after their official restoration on June 19, which marked the final step to rapprochement to end the 2017 Gulf Cooperation Council crisis.
At the time of the diplomatic crisis, the UAE joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt in severing ties with Qatar and imposed an illegal air, land and sea blockade on the Gulf state.
While the crisis effectively came to an end in 2021 with the signing of the Al-Ula Declaration in Saudi Arabia, ties between Qatar and the UAE have taken time to pick up pace.
On July 23, 2023, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani appointed Sultan Salmeen Saeed Al Mansouri as Doha’s ambassador to the Emirates, marking the final steps in the resumption of ties between the neighbouring countries.
On August 14, 2023, the UAE named Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan as its ambassador to Qatar.
In another major development in March of the same year, the UAE withdrew its bid to host the 2026 World Bank International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in favour of Qatar.
The announcement was made in a phone call between Sheikh Tamim and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with the latter expressing his country’s support for Qatar’s candidacy file to host the IMF and World Bank meetings.
Qatar and the UAE’s economic ties have also strengthened since the two countries resumed diplomatic relations.
The third quarter of 2023 saw a substantial 68% increase in trade volume between Ajman, UAE, and Qatar.
The surge has brought the total trade value to an impressive QAR 1.88 billion ($141.86 million), marking a significant rise from QAR 1.12 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.
This uptick is part of a broader pattern of deepening economic, investment, and trade relations between the UAE and Qatar.
The non-oil trade exchange between these two nations reached new heights last year, recording a staggering growth of 121.4%. From QAR 14 billion in 2021 to QAR 31 billion in 2022.
