Saudi Arabia, Qatar Agree to Re-Open Borders

Moments ago, it was reported that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have reached an agreement to open the skies, air, sea and land borders.

"Saudi Arabia will reopen its airspace and land and sea border to Qatar as of Monday," Kuwait's foreign minister said in televised comments, citing a deal towards resolving a political dispute that led Riyadh and its allies to impose a boycott on Qatar.

According to Reuters, Kuwait and the United States have been trying to end the row in which Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-Gulf Egypt severed diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar in mid-2017, shattering regional unity which Washington says hinders efforts to contain Iran.

"An agreement has been reached to open airspace and land and sea borders between Saudi Arabia and Qatar as of this evening," Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Ahmad Nasser al-Sabah said on Kuwait TV ahead of a Gulf Arab summit in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

The news came on the eve of the 41st Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) summit due t kick off tomorrow in Saudi Arabia's Al Ula Governorate.

This current summit will be exceptional and unprecedented in terms of its importance, timing, and the files discussed.

In this regard, GCC secretary-general Nayef Al Hajraf said that the convening of the summit despite the exceptional circumstances the world is going through, confirms the keenness of GCC member states on maintaining the council as a cohesive system capable of overcoming difficulties and challenges.