Manama, Bahrain – Bahrain’s foreign minister met with his Qatari counterpart on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh to discuss mechanisms for initiating negotiations at the level of bilateral committees to resolve unresolved bilateral concerns, according to Bahrain’s state news agency.
In a phone call last month, Bahrain’s crown prince talked with Qatar’s emir, indicating that the two Gulf governments may be moving toward restoring relations two years after an Arab boycott of Qatar was lifted.
Earlier in the last week of January, Bahrain’s crown prince and Qatar’s emir spoke by telephone. This was a sign that the two Gulf countries are making effort to improve ties after restoring relations following years of discord.
In June 2017, the four countries – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt – severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting militant groups, which it denied.
The call came a week after Sheikh Tamim and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa attended a small Arab summit hosted by the UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi that was also attended by the rulers of Oman, Jordan and Egypt.
