Qatar and Kuwait discuss preparations for Doha GCC summit

The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani spoke by telephone today with Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait, in order to prepare for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit due to be held in Doha in December.

The Qatar News Agency said that the Emir of Qatar, Hamad Al-Thani, received a telephone call from the Emir of Kuwait. During the phone conversation they discussed “the bilateral relations between the two fraternal countries in an effort to enhance the already strong relationship between them and ways to prepare for the GCC summit scheduled to take place in Doha in December.”

The Kuwaiti Emir called his Qatari counterpart following an earlier telephone call with the Saudi monarch during which the two discussed both regional and international events.

The telephone calls are reportedly part of Kuwait’s efforts to resolve the greater crisis within the Gulf region. The 133rd session of the GCC summit was scheduled to be held today, but was subsequently “postponed until further notice”.

The conversation comes two days after the Foreign Minister of Kuwait Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah visited Saudi Arabia and Oman. The following day the Emir of Kuwait toured several Gulf countries, during which he visited the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain, in an effort to solve the crisis that prompted Saudi Arabia and the UAE to withdraw their ambassadors from Qatar and Bahrain last March.

An anonymous diplomatic source confirmed that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are scheduled to re-instate their ambassadors in Bahrain and Qatar before the summit takes place next month.

While the GCC’s summit has a tendency to meet in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh annually, the meeting is scheduled to take place in Doha and will reportedly not be affected by the crisis.