Feb 6, 2022: According to a report by Reuters, Qatar’s emir Tamim bin Hammad al Thani, met the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates during an official event at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The meeting is the first such interaction between the two Gulf leaders since four Arab states agreed to end a dispute with and boycott of Doha over a year ago.

Qatar’s state news agency said Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday at the sidelines of a luncheon hosted by the Chinese president. UAE news websites published a video clip of the two leaders talking.

Abu Dhabi has not yet resumed diplomatic relations with Doha since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt agreed in January 2021 to end a row that led them to boycott Qatar in mid-2017, though a senior Emirati official visited Doha last August.

Last year, Saudi Arabia and Egypt appointed ambassadors to Qatar and all but Bahrain have restored travel and trade links.

The disagreement emerged from accusations that Doha supported terrorism, a reference to Islamist groups, and its ties with regional adversary Iran and Turkey. A charge denied by Qatar.

The UAE, driven by economic priorities, has revised its foreign policy and is engaging with both Tehran and Ankara, with which ties were badly strained over the role of Islamist groups following 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

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