Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade ties with Doha, and imposed a sea, land and air blockade on June 5, 2017 [File: Eric Piermont/AAir travel between Qatar and Saudi Arabia resumed on Monday, according to the countries’ airlines, a major step as the former rivals normalise ties under a landmark agreement signed in the first week of January.
Saudi Arabia and its allies the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt in June 2017 slapped a blockade on Qatar that included closing airspace to the country over claims it worked to support “terrorism” and was too close to Iran.
The national carriers of Qatar and Saudi Arabia have announced the resumption of air travel between the two countries starting next week, just days after a deal was reached to end a years-long regional diplomatic dispute.
A Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit on Tuesday declared an end to the bitter rift in which members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain – along with Egypt – blockaded Qatar since June 2017. The group severed diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, an accusation Doha vehemently denied.
Kuwait and the United States had been mediating for reconciliation.
On the eve of the 41st GCC summit held in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom agreed to reopen its air, sea and land borders with Qatar – a major breakthrough in the Gulf crisis.
LONDON: Qatari authorities have ignored hundreds of migrant workers who are awaiting months of unpaid wages at two firms in the country, despite repeatedly being warned of the situation, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday. The government set up the Workers’ Support and Insurance Fund in 2018 to address the persistent labor abuse allegations leveled against Qatar. However, the fund has not been used to benefit struggling workers in the two companies. “It is disheartening that hundreds of workers in at least two companies are struggling to obtain their unpaid wages even though the Qatari government has been made aware of these abuses over and over again,” said Maham Javaid, Middle East fellow at HRW.