Emir Sheikh Tamim met Crown Prince Sheikh Nahyan on the sidelines of a lunch hosted by Chinese President Xi in Beijing.
The Emir of Qatar met the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the Winter Olympics in Beijing in the first such interaction between the two Gulf leaders since the end of a dispute between Doha and four Arab countries last year.
Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday on the sidelines of a lunch hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the news agency reported on Sunday. official of Qatar.
UAE news sites posted a video clip of the two Gulf leaders speaking.
The leaders of Uzbekistan, Ecuador and Tajikistan were also present at the rally at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The United Arab Emirates has yet to restore diplomatic ties with Doha since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt agreed in January 2021 to end a four-year dispute that had led them to sever diplomatic and economic relations with Qatar in mid-2017.
لقاء أخوي ودي يجمع صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن زايد وسمو الأمير تميم بن حمد خلال حضورهم أولمبياد بكين pic.twitter.com/sensSCdaVnt
— مصدر (@MSDAR_NEWS) February 5, 2022
However, a senior UAE official met with the Qatari leader in Doha last year – the first such visit in four years – after the bitter dispute ended. National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, brother of the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, met Sheikh Tamim in August.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt last year appointed ambassadors to Qatar. All but Bahrain have restored trade and travel links.
The dispute erupted over complaints about Qatar’s independent foreign policy, including its close ties with Iran and Turkey.
The UAE, as part of a more conciliatory foreign policy driven by economic priorities, is now engaging with both Tehran and Ankara after years of strained relations.
