Kuwait leads talks as Qatar markets stabilise

Dubai, June 12: Qatar’s foreign minister told statefunded broadcaster Al Jazeera on Monday that his country and the United States were both in touch with the Emir of Kuwait who is leading mediation efforts on the Gulf’s weeklongdiplomatic crisis.

“We’re ready to discuss any requests that are made, but we have not received any reply,” the broadcaster quoted Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani as saying. “Diplomatic dialogue is the solution but it requires a foundation that is not yet available. We’re focused on solving humanitarian problems resulting from the illegal blockade.”

Qatar’s financial markets stabilised on Monday after a week of losses as the government showed it had ways to keep the economy running in the face of sanctions.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties a week ago, accusing Doha of backing terrorism. This has disrupted imports and caused many foreign banks to scale back business with Qatar.

But on Monday, it was becoming clear that Qatar could prevent the economic damage from becoming critical. Some of its food factories are working extra shifts to process imports from nations outside the Gulf, such as Brazil, and shipping lines are operating via Oman instead of the UAE.

These measures are inconvenient, involve delays and raise costs for Qatar. On Monday, Fitch put Qatar’s AA credit rating on rating watch negative, saying a sustained crisis could hurt its credit outlook. But they are unlikely to prevent the economy from functioning.