QATAR RECEIVES GCC SUMMIT INVITATION LETTER FROM SAUDI’S KING SALMAN

▶ Emir could attend next week’s meeting after first correspondence since boycott of Doha began in June last year

The emir of Qatar, Tamim Al Thani, received a letter from King Salman of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday – the first such correspondence since the boycott of Doha began in June last year.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain have been embroiled in a diplomatic row with Doha that led to the breakdown of previously close ties between the Gulf neighbours.

Kuwait state news agency reported that the emir received a written letter from King Salman, hand-delivered by the Secretary General of the GCC, Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani. Qatar’s state news agency reported the same information.

It is unclear whether Sheikh Tamim will represent his country at the GCC conference to be held in Riyadh on Sunday. At last year’s summit in Kuwait, Qatar was the only state from the six-nation bloc to send its head of state to the meeting. But his absence from the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia this year suggests he may be avoiding meetings in the kingdom behind the boycott.

An official in the Kuwaiti royal palace said: “This summit in my opinion will not resolve the Qatar crisis. There’s too much tension.

“Kuwait has always been supportive, but I think we’ve reached a point that we’re there to observe and listen rather than fix matters.”

The official said that Kuwait’s Emir Sabah Al Ahmed continues to serve the role of chief mediator but reconciliation will remain a decision both sides will have to agree to together.

Although not much is expected from the talks, the two sides’ willingness to engage in dialogue is a “small step” towards a more positive relationship, said Michael Stephens, research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.

“I think it’s actually a positive sign,” he said. “No matter what it goes through – and even if it’s a moribund institution politically – I think the framework of the GCC would still survive.”

Regardless of the differences in the GCC, the member states still share enough economic and security challenges that working together serves their individual interests, Mr Stephens said.

“There is common thinking and a common approach and I think ultimately for all sides that they’re at least being seen as trying to co-operate.”

Since the dispute broke out, the royal families from the two sides have had little contact, with the exception of a phone call between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Sheikh Tamim, which turned sour.

That call came months after the initial announcement of the boycott and was believed to be an attempt at reconciliation.

Media coverage of the call from both the Saudi and Qatari sides reported conflicting details about which side had initiated the contact, and afterwards Riyadh rejected any prospect for dialogue.

The present dispute with Qatar is not the region’s first. In 2014, the three countries recalled their ambassadors from Doha over Qatar’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which the three Gulf states view as undermining their domestic security.

The 2014 crisis lasted eight months and was resolved in an emergency meeting in Riyadh where the countries vowed to turn over a new leaf.

The Qatari news agency reported that Sheikh Tamim was travelling to Malaysia on a “working visit”, but did not indicate when he would return.

This invitation follows Qatar’s abrupt withdrawal from Opec to focus on gas production – a move many believe is aimed squarely at Saudi Arabia and its allies. Apart from its crude oil, Qatar sits on the world’s third-largest gas reserves and is the world’s No 1 producer of liquefied natural gas.

Although not much is expected from the talks, the sides’ willingness to engage is a “small step” towards a relationship