Trade between Qatar and Saudi Arabia has resumed after grinding to a halt in mid-2017 amid the near-four-year embargo. The end of the embargo in January this year enabled a tentative resumption of economic ties between the neighboring states, but trade remains very low for now.
The al-Ula agreement in January patched the rift between Qatar on one side and Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain on the other (MEES, 8 January). Many differences remain between the two sides, but no winners had emerged since the onset of the embargo on 5 June 2017 (MEES, 9 June 2017) and bringing an end to this public rift was ultimately a pragmatic decision. (CONTINUED - 696 WORDS)
