Qatar FM on GCC blockade, Iran and engaging with the Taliban

Qatar’s top diplomat discusses Gulf neighbours, Iran’s nuclear deal, ties with US and Afghanistan at a security forum.

A three-year-long blockade on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt fractured the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) but the group’s six leaders are working on strengthening it once again, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said.

In 2017, Saudi Arabia and its three Arab allies imposed a land, air and sea blockade on Qatar, accusing it of, among other things, supporting terrorist groups and being too close to Iran, the allegations Doha has consistently denied.

The four nations agreed to restore full diplomatic and trade ties at a summit of GCC member states, including the other two members Kuwait and Oman, in Saudi Arabia last year.