Foreign minister of the exiled President Abd Rabbu Hadi arrived in the Qatari capital, Doha, for the first time since Saudi Arabia was forcing Hadi to cut off ties with due to the Gulf crisis in mid-2017.
This comes amid a mutual escalation between Saudi Arabia and UAE-backed factions in Yemen, which may enhance Qatari influence at the expense of UAE.
It is expected that Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak will meet with Qatari officials. It is also expected, according to Al Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, that Hadi government will restore its diplomatic relationship with Doha.
Years ago, Saudi Arabia forced Hadi government to cut its relationship with Doha in the context of Gulf boycott to Qatar.
The visit of the Yemeni official, who until recently, was forbidden to pass even from the airspace of Doha, came in the wake of Gulf reconciliation, specifically between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which began months ago in Al-Ula city in the Kingdom.
It also comes within the framework of developments in the Yemeni scene that predict that Saudi Arabia, which has long been dependent on the UAE in its war on Yemen.
It is now hoping forة Qatar, which maintains relations with the various Yemeni forces, to get it out of the quagmire, Especially in light of the earlier news of on a contact between Emir of Qatar and Saudi Crown Prince regarding the conclusion of an agreement in Marib to reduce air attacks on Saudi Arabia. Moreover, ends the bloody battles on the outskirts of the city.
The recent moves would strengthen the Qatari influence within the Hadi government at the expense of the Emirates, which Saudi Arabia seeks to undermine the factions loyal to it in Aden and the western coast in light of the refusal of those factions to defend on Saudi Arabia in Marib, which may reduce the influence of the newly established UAE in favor of Qatar, which has historical relations with Yemen by virtue of its relationship with Yemen’s Brotherhood.
