Qatar’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and the UAE- There are other prosperous nations on both sides of Qatar, the bulk of which are reliant on the country’s oil exports. Qatar is bordered on all sides by these countries. In the context of competition, these countries may sometimes play the role of opponents against one another. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both of which are considered to be part of the Islamic neighborhood, have made it clear that they do not always support certain measures taken by Qatar.
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Qatar’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and UAE
Qatar – Saudi Arabia Relationship
The relationship between the two nations has been characterized by both highs and lows.
When it came to matters of foreign policy, Qatar was almost entirely reliant on Saudi Arabia. During the rule of Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar was able to reassert its position as an independent country in international affairs.
In 1996, the government of Qatar established Al Jazeera with the intention of expanding its sphere of influence throughout the world. Since it persistently opposed Saudi Arabia’s political stances, the news network Al Jazeera, which is among the most-watched in the Arab world, turned out to be a significant barrier in the path to closer bilateral relations between the two countries. Additionally, the network provided a platform for Islamist organizations that were thought to be a danger to the government of Saudi Arabia.
Mohsen Al-Awaji, a religious activist in Saudi Arabia, appeared in a program broadcast by Al Jazeera in the month of July 2002. He had some negative things to say about Saudi Arabia’s role in Afghanistan as well as the way the country handled the Palestinian issue.
As a consequence of this fact, Saudi Arabia withdrew its ambassador from Doha from the years 2002 through 2008 in an effort to persuade Qatar to cease being so autonomous. This idea did not end up being extremely successful.
All diplomatic ties were severed with Qatar in 2017, after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. According to reports, the reason for the conflict was Qatar’s support for terrorist and extremist organizations that wish to harm the security of the area. In the course of this battle, the coalition led by Saudi Arabia cut off Qatar’s access to its own airspace, naval waterways, and land borders.
On the other hand, Qatar and Saudi Arabia came to an agreement to reopen their borders on land, airspace, and water four years later in 2021, with the hope that their bilateral connections would be fully restored by that time.
The United States and Qatar reached a military agreement in 2002, which led to the creation of the Al Udeid Air Base. This agreement came about as a result of Saudi Arabia’s refusal to allow United States forces to train at their base during the Iraq War.
This was a significant milestone in Qatar’s journey away from the influence of Saudi Arabia. The United States of America took precautions to ensure that Qatar would not be subject to any military assaults launched by Saudi Arabia and its supporters.
Qatar commerce with Saudi Arabia
Before the diplomatic crisis in Qatar, as much as 80 percent of Qatar’s food supply came from Saudi Arabia. Now, however, Saudi Arabia is Qatar’s primary supplier of food. The Salwa Border Crossing, which is situated between the two countries, was used by foot to transport the most majority of the food over the border. In June of 2017, this particular border crossing was closed, and at the same time, any commercial activity between Qatar and the countries that are obstructing it was made illegal. As a direct consequence of this, Qatar was severed from the main supply route for its food imports. In addition, Qatar was unable to get imports of medications, of which Saudi Arabia and the other Arab states that are situated in the Persian Gulf supplied between fifty and sixty percent.
However, by the year 2021, the thriving state of commerce between the two nations had been restored. Even in 2021, Saudi Arabia sent more than 500 million dollars worth of goods to Qatar; it is anticipated that this amount would more than double in 2022.
Relationship between Qatar and Bahrain
Qatar and Bahrain have been involved in a dispute over these areas since 1936.
- The islands of Hawar
- Fasht Al Azm
- Fasht Dibal
- Qit’at Jaradah
- Zubarah
In 1996, the GCC summit was held in Qatar, although Bahrain chose not to participate. They acted in this manner because they said that their territorial claims were discussed in the most recent summit of the GCC, which took place in Qatar in the year 1990. In January of 1997, Nasser Al Khalifa, a member of Bahrain’s royal family, was able to successfully depart the country and take refuge in Qatar. It was widely reported all around the globe that he arrived in the capital of Qatar on a military chopper from Bahrain.
Because of disagreements over territory, these countries are mostly at odds with one another. Many times, Saudi Arabia was the one to begin conversations between the two parties; yet, things have always followed a pattern of back and forth.
There is either a very little amount of commerce or none at all between the two countries.
Relations between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates
Both of them are participants in the GCC. Despite the fact that Qatar and the UAE have never been involved in a territorial conflict or an episode of distrust. Despite this, beginning in 2017, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar were involved in a dispute for a period of four years due to the fact that their respective global political ideas did not coincide. The United Arab Emirates, along with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, was present. The United Arab Emirates and a number of other countries offered their assistance to the Egyptian government in their conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood organization, which received financial backing from Qatar.
There are then claims that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sponsored the movie “The Misfits 2021.”
Since it was first shown to the public, the movie has been mired in controversy due to certain real-life unfavorable allusions to Qatar about “terror” funding and clear references to Muslim Brotherhood as “terrorists,” with Yusuf al-Qaradawi serving as their mastermind. This is as a result of the fact that Qatar has been implicated in the funding of “terror.” Then The United Arab Emirates were revealed to be the principal financial supporter of the American film in a documentary that was made by Al Jazeera and shown to the public in the month of August 2021.
In 2021, all of Qatar’s exports to the United Arab Emirates were worth $3.47 billion US dollars, according to the United Nations’ COMTRADE database on international trade.
