Dubai: Qatar’s Emir Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani will attend this week’s Gulf Cooperation Council summit, the first official gathering of the bloc since Saudi Arabia and three allies severed ties with Doha in June.
Talks will include the GCC crisis, Foreign Minister Shaikh Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said in a public lecture in Doha on Sunday, adding that the Qatari government had yet to receive the formal agenda for the meeting.
Standoff
Saudi Arabia along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport links with Qatar, accusing it of funding extremism and criticising its ties with Iran.
The Saudi-led bloc has demanded that Qatar shut down Al Jazeera television, refrain from backing Islamist groups and scale back relations with Tehran.
The standoff has endured despite regional and international efforts to mediate.
Kuwait’s ruler, Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, who is hosting the meeting, sent the invitation to Qatar, the state-run Kuwait News Agency reported on Thursday.
Collective security
The summit is scheduled to be held on Dec. 5-6 in Kuwait, which has attempted to mediate the dispute.
Qatar’s foreign minister said on Sunday it’s not acceptable to have foreign demands imposed on his country, and that Qatar is willing to discuss concerns that relate to collective security in the region.
