Saudi Arabia will lift its embargo against Qatar for several years, according to an announcement by the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Ahmad Naser Al-Sabah announced the agreement on Kuwaiti state television on Monday (Jan. 4). He said, “An agreement has been reached tonight to open the sky, land and sea borders between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.”
The agreement will be signed on Tuesday at a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Saudi Arabia, he said.
Saudi King Salman will preside over the meeting. The Qatari leader is expected to attend the meeting, which will be the first since the border was blockaded more than three years ago.
The diplomatic dispute began in 2017, when Saudi Arabia, the Joint Arabian Sheikhs, Bahrain and Egypt cut off diplomatic, trade and travel with Qatar. The four countries accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism, a charge Doha denies.
Kuwait and the United States have been working to resolve the dispute. For its part, Washington believes the dispute is hampering efforts to contain Iran.
Reuters, citing a senior Trump administration official, reported that White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, as well as White House Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz and State Department special adviser Brian Hooker, will attend a signing ceremony in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
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