UAE-Qatar ties: Ending crisis is part of new vision for post-Covid world, says Gargash

Dubai - The minister on Thursday spoke at a virtual media briefing after the four Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia have resumed diplomatic ties with their Gulf neighbour.

Ending the Qatar crisis is part and parcel of the UAE’s new vision and strategy for the post Covid-world, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash has said.

The minister on Thursday spoke at a virtual media briefing after the four Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia have resumed diplomatic ties with their Gulf neighbour. He discussed how the UAE could resume trade and transport with Qatar within a week after diplomatic relations have been restored.

Drawing examples like the UAE’s exit strategy from the protracted war in Yemen, fighting Covid and leading the world in mass testing and vaccination, signing the Abraham Accords to normalise relations with Israel, and the Mars mission — Dr Gargash said all these were part of the country’s vision to be “more competitive, more global”.

“Covid was a very difficult challenge towards our capacity as a state, and I think we are doing very well, in terms of tackling it in the early stages, choosing testing and scientific methods as our guideline,” he said.

He noted that in terms of per capita vaccination, the UAE is just behind Israel. “Our intention is to surpass Israel in terms of the percentage of the population vaccinated.”

Dr Gargash said “closing of the Qatar chapter” is part of the UAE’s recognition that there is a “need to revive GCC as a whole in the issue of security and development in the region”.

It is also from the UAE’s understanding that a more “connected and more stable region is in our interest,” he added. “Every crisis has come to an end. I am glad this one is also coming to an end. But every crisis will also depend on the sort of transparency and constructive approach that we move forward with.”

anjana@khaleejtimes.com

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