Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-GCC member Egypt cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar in June 2017 over allegations of supporting terrorism. The emir attended last year’s gathering in Kuwait, while Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain sent more junior officials. Saudi Arabia has resisted renewed US pressure to end the Qatar row after the Oct. 2 murder of Khashoggi at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate drew global condemnation and exposed Riyadh’s domestic crackdown on dissent and activities in the region. Rights group Amnesty International called on GCC states to release peaceful dissidents in the region, where governments have shown little tolerance for open dissent or criticism of rulers. Qatar’s exit from OPEC after 57 year to focus on gas appeared to be a swipe at the bloc’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia.

Source: Egypt Independent December 09, 2018 09:22 UTC