The work of the 41st Gulf Summit will kick off today, Tuesday, in Al-Ula, northwest of Saudi Arabia, amidst hopes for reaching a settlement to the crisis resulting from the boycott of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt and imposing a siege on it 3 years ago.

On Monday, the Saudi Press Agency quoted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as confirming that the summit will "unite the word for the class and enhance the march of good and prosperity."

The Saudi Crown Prince added that the summit would translate "the aspirations of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques - may God protect him - and his brothers, the leaders of the GCC states, in terms of reunification and solidarity in facing the challenges in our region."

Hours before the start of the summit, Kuwait announced that Saudi Arabia would reopen its airspace and land borders with Qatar, more than 3 years after the Gulf crisis.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Sabah said that the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, had a phone call with the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

He explained, "During the call, it was emphasized that everyone was keen on unity, reunification and gathering the word by signing the Al-Ola statement, which promises God’s grace, marking the beginning of a bright page in fraternal relations, free of any symptoms that may be tainted."

The level of representation,


and the Kuwait News Agency reported that the Amir, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, will head his country's delegation to the summit.

In Doha, the Amiri Diwan announced that the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, will attend the Gulf summit in Saudi Arabia tomorrow.

The official Oman News Agency stated that Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister, will leave the country on Tuesday, heading to Saudi Arabia on behalf of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, to ​​represent his country's delegation at the summit.

The Emir of Qatar received, on Monday evening, the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister, whose country is leading efforts at reconciliation in the Gulf (Anadolu Agency)

The Bahrain News Agency reported that the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa will lead the Bahrain delegation to the summit.

There was no statement on the level of Emirati representation at the summit.

But the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said that the Gulf Cooperation Council summit, which will be held on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, will restore the unity of the Gulf.

"We are facing a historic summit in Al-Ula, through which we will restore the Gulf cohesion ... We have more work ahead of us, and we are in the right direction," Gargash wrote on Twitter.

End the conflict


A senior US administration official said that a breakthrough has been achieved in the three-year-old dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, adding that an agreement is scheduled to be signed in Saudi Arabia to end the conflict tomorrow, Tuesday.

While Saudi Arabia has indicated that it intends to lift the siege, the other three countries have not issued a similar statement, but the US official said, "We expect" that they will also join the lifting of the blockade.

Under the imminent deal, the official added, Qatar would drop the lawsuits related to the blockade.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt had severed their relations with Qatar and imposed a sea, land and air blockade on it since mid-2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Qatar denied this, saying the blockade aimed to undermine its sovereignty.