In May, Sheikh Mohamed flew to Abu Dhabi for Sheikh Khalifa’s funeral, his half-brother and predecessor as president.
Officials said that Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani welcomed UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the airport, as the two leaders met in Qatar ahead of the ongoing football World Cup there.
Qatar’s ruler on Monday began his first meeting with the United Arab Emirates president since a nearly four-year-old regional blockade that damaged relations.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani greeted Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the airport, officials said, in a trip that coincides with the ongoing football World Cup in Qatar.
Qatar has been cut off from its neighboring states since June 2017, when a Saudi-led boycott of the gas-rich peninsula finally ended.
Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim invited the visit, deepening the ties between the two nations and their peoples, according to UAE official WAM news agency.
Qatar has denied that it supports extremists or is too close to Iran after Saudi Arabia and its allies Bahrain and the UAE cut ties with Qatar less than two years ago. Now, Qatar is holding its first World Cup after cutting ties with Saudi Arabia and its allies.
There has already been a photograph of Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, wearing a Qatar football scarf during the World Cup.
Ties have been warming up since this is the UAE president’s first visit since the blockade.
Emir Sheikh Mohamed flew to Abu Dhabi in May for Sheikh Khalifa’s funeral, his half-brother and predecessor as president.
