UAE-Qatar ties: Ending crisis is part of new vision for post-Covid world, says Gargash

Dubai - The minister on Thursday spoke at a virtual media briefing after the four Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia have resumed diplomatic ties with their Gulf neighbour.

Ending the Qatar crisis is part and parcel of the UAE’s new vision and strategy for the post Covid-world, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash has said.

The minister on Thursday spoke at a virtual media briefing after the four Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia have resumed diplomatic ties with their Gulf neighbour. He discussed how the UAE could resume trade and transport with Qatar within a week after diplomatic relations have been restored.

Drawing examples like the UAE’s exit strategy from the protracted war in Yemen, fighting Covid and leading the world in mass testing and vaccination, signing the Abraham Accords to normalise relations with Israel, and the Mars mission — Dr Gargash said all these were part of the country’s vision to be “more competitive, more global”.

“Covid was a very difficult challenge towards our capacity as a state, and I think we are doing very well, in terms of tackling it in the early stages, choosing testing and scientific methods as our guideline,” he said.