India hails restoration of ties between Qatar, Arab countries; Read More-

New Delhi, Jan 7: "We were pleased to note the positive developments at the recently concluded Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Al-Ula, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We welcome the reconciliation and rapprochement between countries in the region, " India said while speaking on the restoration of diplomatic ties between Qatar and four other Arab countries that had imposed an embargo on it in 2017.

 

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, "India shares (an) excellent relationship with all the countries in the GCC, which is in our extended neighbourhood and we hope that such encouraging developments will further promote peace, progress and stability in the region."

 

 

Further, he added, “We will continue to work with GCC countries for the strengthening of our bilateral cooperation. We also look forward to enhancing our institutional dialogue and partnership with the GCC.”

 

These GCC states are home to some nine million Indian expatriates, with a majority based in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Indian government has worked hard to boost its relations with the Arab states, particularly in defence cooperation and energy security, and it has also welcomed the recent normalisation of ties between Israel and key Arab states such as the UAE.

 

Apart from this, India is trying to enhance the bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia and UAE in the defence sector as the Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane had visited these countries on different dates. The visit is historic as it was the first time an Indian Army Chief is visiting the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

 

Prior to this, in November, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar was on a two-day official visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain where he met with his counterparts and the top leadership of the country. He also held talks with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan held discussions on the entire range of bilateral issues including trade, investment, infrastructure, energy, food security, and defence. In December, viewing to enhance the economic stance in the country, Jaishankar had met business leaders in Qatar, highlighting the investment opportunities in India.

 

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhad said on Tuesday that Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had agreed to “fully set our differences aside” with Qatar at a GCC Summit at Al-Ula.

 

The four countries had cut ties with Qatar in 2017 and imposed a partial blockade, accusing the gas and oil-rich state of backing acts of terrorism. Qatar, which had angered the other states because of its close ties with Iran and the broadcasts of the Al-Jazeera news channel, had dismissed these allegations.

 

Following the restoration of full ties between the five countries, external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, “We were pleased to note the positive developments at the recently concluded GCC Summit in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia. We welcome the reconciliation and rapprochement between countries in the region."