Qatar hosts UAE official in first visit since end of blockade
A senior United Arab Emirates official held talks with Qatar's emir in Doha on Thursday, in the first such visit in four years, following a deal earlier this year to end a bitter row.
National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al-Nahyan, a brother of the UAE's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, met Qatar's ruling Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
Official Emirati news agency WAM reported that the two discussed cooperation between Doha and Abu Dhabi, “especially in the economic and trade fields and vital investment projects that serve the process of construction, development and progress”, as well as “common interests of the two countries”.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt agreed in January to end a dispute in which they had severed ties with Qatar in mid-2017.
The regional bloc, led by Saudi Arabia, broke ties with Doha after accusing it of supporting "terrorism" - charges Qatar denied.
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The neighbouring states imposed wide-ranging punitive measures, including banning Qatari planes from their airspace, closing Qatar’s only land border with Saudi Arabia and expelling Qatari citizens.
Riyadh and Cairo have since appointed ambassadors to Doha, but Abu Dhabi and Manama have yet to do so.
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