New Delhi (NVI): India today welcomed the restoration of ties between Qatar and four Arab states that had imposed an embargo against it for three years, saying that New Delhi shares an excellent relationship with all the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Pertinent to mention here that the four Arab states– Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt — had imposed an embargo on Qatar in 2017 for the country’s alleged role in backing acts of terrorism. The four Arab states had also imposed a partial blockade on gas and the oil-rich state of Qatar over its close ties with Iran.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava today responded to media queries on the announcement of restoration of full ties between these sates at the GCC Summit in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia on January 5 (yesterday).
“We were pleased to note the positive developments at the recently concluded GCC Summit in Al-Ula, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We welcome the reconciliation and rapprochement between countries in the region. India shares excellent relationship with all the countries in the GCC which is in our extended neighbourhood and we hope that such encouraging developments will further promote peace, progress and stability in the region,” he said.
“We will continue to work with GCC countries for the strengthening of our bilateral cooperation. We also look forward to enhance our institutional dialogue and partnership with the GCC,” Srivastava added.
Notably, the Gulf nations are home to millions of Indian expatriates, with a majority of them in Saudi Arabia and UAE. India had also recently welcomed the normalisation of ties between Israel and Arab states including UAE.
-ARK
