Sudan agrees to represent Yemen’s interests in Qatar

The officially-recognised Yemeni government has requested Sudan represent Yemen’s interests in the State of Qatar, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry revealed yesterday.

In a statement, the ministry confirmed that Foreign Minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, had received a letter from his Yemeni counterpart, Abdul Malik Al-Maklafi, and agreed to represent Yemen “based on the strong ties that bind the Sudanese and Yemeni peoples.”

Meanwhile in Riyadh, Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz yesterday met Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir at the Safa Palace in Makkah. The meeting was part of Sudan’s efforts to mediate between the Gulf states.

Read: Qatar expels Yemen ambassador

Last week, during a meeting in Khartoum, Al-Bashir confirmed to the Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan Bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, that Sudan would continue to seek to resolve the rift between the sides diplomatically and would make intensive efforts to find a political solution to the crisis.

Al-Bashir said at the time he would “work to spare the region from moving into negative directions,” and explained that Sudan was keen to see diplomatic relations in the Arab region and the Gulf area return to normal as soon as possible.

#QatarGate

Earlier this month, seven Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Mauritania and Comoros cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar accusing it of supporting terrorism and Iran. Doha has denied the accusations saying it was facing a “campaign of fabrications and lies” aimed at hampering its independent foreign policy stance.