Kuwaiti emir heads to US for to discuss Gulf blockade with with Trump

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al Sabah set out for Washington on Friday for his first official visit to the US since President Donald Trump assumed office early this year.

According to Kuwait’s official KUNA news agency, the emir is scheduled to meet with Trump on 7 September at the White House.

The news agency did not provide further details regarding the emir’s itinerary.

#QatarGate

It is expected that the two leaders will discuss the ongoing inter-Arab diplomatic crisis pitting the small Gulf state of Qatar against a four-nation bloc of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia.

In early June, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt all collectively severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism in the region.

The four states also imposed a blockade on Qatar, going on to demand that Doha meet a long list of demands – including one for the closure of pan-Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera – or face additional sanctions.

Doha has until now rejected the demands, describing the attempts to isolate it as a violation of both international law and its national sovereignty.

A key US ally in the region and home to one of the largest US military bases in the Middle East, Qatar fiercely denies allegations that it supports terrorism.

Trump urges Saudi to end Qatar dispute

Participants pose for a photo during the Arabic Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 21, 2017 [Bandar Algaloud / Saudi Kingdom Council / Handout/Anadolu Agency ]

Kuwait, meanwhile, has attempted to mediate the crisis, dispatching a number of high-level emissaries to relay messages between Qatar and the states arrayed against it.

These mediation efforts, however, have so far failed to produce any breakthroughs and relations between Doha and the four-nation bloc remain suspended.

The Kuwaiti emir is being accompanied on his trip by Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Hamad Al Sabah; Interior Minister Sheikh Khalid al-Jarrah Al Sabah; Finance Minister Anas Khalid al-Saleh; and National Guard Deputy Chairman Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al Sabah.

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