Qatar names Saudi envoy as Gulf ties improve
Bandar Mohamed Abdullah al-Attiyah will serve as Qatar's first ambassador to Saudi Arabia since the 2017 Gulf row.
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has appointed an ambassador to Saudi Arabia in the latest sign of warming ties with the kingdom after the years-long Gulf dispute.
Qatar's state news agency QNA announced on Wednesday that Bandar Mohamed Abdullah al-Attiyah will serve as Qatar’s newest envoy to Saudi Arabia. From 2018 until 2021 Attiyah was Qatar’s ambassador to Kuwait, which has long acted as a mediator between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors.
Attiyah’s appointment comes after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt reached a “solidarity and stability” pact with Qatar in January aimed at easing their diplomatic and economic blockade.
The Saudi-led bloc had severed diplomatic relations with Doha and imposed an air, sea and land embargo on the gas-rich country in June 2017, accusing Qatar of funding terrorism and backing Iran. Doha denies supporting terrorist groups but admits to supporting Islamist movements including Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
