HH The Amir invited to the GCC Summit by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman

In a significant development, HH The Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has received a formal, written message from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, inviting him to the GCC Summit scheduled to be held in Kingdom on December 9.

The message, to participate in the 39th Summit of the Supreme Council of the GCC, is understood to be the first-of-its-kind correspondence between the two nations after the start of the illegal blockade of Qatar more than a year ago.

The invitation was delivered by GCC Secretary-General Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, reported Gulf Times.

HH the Amir received a written message from King of Saudi Arabia, inviting HH the Amir to attend the 39th Summit of the Supreme Council of the GCC that will be hosted by the Kingdom on December 9. pic.twitter.com/UJSrG4u3Ph

— Qatar News Agency (@QNAEnglish) December 4, 2018

It was handed over during a reception the top Bahraini official was accorded by Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs HE Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, according to The Peninsula. 

However, it is not yet clear whether HH The Amir will travel to Saudi Arabia or not.

The announcement followed Qatar’s decision a day earlier to withdraw from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a move seen by some analysts as deeply symbolic given the country’s modest oil output.

At last year’s GCC summit, held in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain had sent ministers or deputy prime ministers, rather than heads of state, reported Al Jazeera.

Kuwait, which has been mediating between Qatar and the blockading nations, said last month all six GCC member states were expected to attend the Riyadh summit.

Some media houses saw this development as a potential thaw in relationships between the two countries.

The invitation comes as the Saudi Arabians face renewed pressure to end an 18-month blockade of Qatar over alleged funding of extremist groups, reported Bloomberg.