Dhahran: Qatar will not be represented by a senior official at an Arab summit taking place in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, in a sign that a nearly year-old dispute between Gulf Arab neighbours is still a long way from being resolved.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism.
The Qatari delegation will be headed by Doha’s permanent representative to the Arab League, Saif Bin Muqaddam Al Buainain, the state news agency said without elaborating.
Most of the 22 other countries are represented by heads of state or government. Qatari Emir Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani headed Qatar’s delegation at last year’s Arab summit in Jordan.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said on Thursday that Qatar’s crisis would not be on the table at the Arab League summit, Al Arabiya reported.
Ahead of the summit, the four boycotting nations reaffirmed that their demands on Qatar -- including closing Al Jazeera television station and reducing ties with Iran -- were “a necessary basis” for a resolution to the crisis.
