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UAE reopens air, land and sea borders with Qatar

Scheduled and unscheduled flights between the two countries will resume operations from Saturday

by Aarti Nagraj

January 9, 2021

The UAE is reopening all land, sea and air ports with Qatar for inbound and outbound movement starting Saturday, January 9, official news agency WAM reported.

The move comes following the signing of the Al-Ula Declaration in Saudi Arabia during the GCC Summit.

Khalid Abdullah Belhoul, undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, announced on Friday that the UAE will begin to end all measures taken against Qatar since June 5, 2017.

He said the UAE will work with Qatar to resolve all other outstanding issues through bilateral talks.

The Al-Ula Declaration and the associated permanent agreement of GCC solidarity is “considered a Gulf and Arab achievement that promotes and bolsters the cohesion of the GCC, Arab and Islamic unity”, Belhoul added.

All the relevant authorities in the UAE have been notified of the new measures.

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) also announced the reopening of airspace and resuming of air traffic between the UAE and Qatar as of Saturday, January 9.

The GCAA said that it will resume scheduled and unscheduled flights between the two countries, in coordination with the civil aviation authorities and national carriers in the UAE, WAM reported.

"الطيران المدني" تعلن إعادة فتح المجال الجوي بين #الإمارات و #قطر بدءاً من غد.#وام https://t.co/nVkVL5Hb8D

— وكالة أنباء الإمارات (@wamnews) January 8, 2021

The announcement comes after UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash had said on Thursday that trade, travel and transportation ties with Qatar would be resolved within a week.

“We realise that some issues are easier to fix. Some will take longer,” he said.

Gargash said he expects that the GCC “will go back to its full vitality” on the diplomatic front.

Read: Trade, transport between GCC, Qatar could resume within a week – official

Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states agreed to fully restore ties with neighbouring Qatar during the 41st GCC Summit, after a sustained US push for the countries to unite.

Read: Gulf Arab states agree to restore Qatar ties, end three-year rift