Another rapprochement

Reconciliation is the buzzword in the Middle East. The changing dynamics in power politics are bringing estranged neighbours together. Another marvel was manifested in the form of UAE and Qatar’s decision to reopen their embassies and restore full diplomatic relations. The rapprochement apparently drew its synergies from the thaw between Iran and Saudi Arabia as they buried a decade-long hatchet under Chinese diplomacy to join hands and work for greater regional cooperation. While the feud between the UAE and Qatar pertained largely to their respective love-hate relationship with Tehran, there was no point in staying estranged bilaterally when Saudi Arabia had mended fences with Iran. Thus, the coming full circle of ties between Abu Dhabi and Doha is a great moment to rejoice, as they form the pivot of developmental economies, innovation and big-ticket businesses in the region.

The rupture in ties since January 2021 had torpedoed cooperation not only in bilateral context, but also with grave ramifications for the region and beyond. The four-year diplomatic-cum-logistical blockade was unnerving, and had pitched the entire Arabian Gulf, as well as Turkey and Iran in a perpetual standoff. The making of new alliances of convenience as was evident between Iran and Qatar, and likewise the quadruplet Turkey, Russia, Iran and Qatar, had led to renewed involvement of the US, pitching it as the peg of realpolitik. The timeframe ironically coincided with a pestering pandemic, Covid-19, worldwide and posted a slump in economic activity, plunging the world into a recession.

There are lessons to be learnt from the evolving neo-diplomacy in the Mideast. It’s national interests that regulate inter-state relations and not fits of anger. That is why the assumption-based acrimony between the UAE and Qatar could not carry long, and the visionary leadership of both the states preferred a thaw over chest-thumping. Last but not least, China’s proactive economic incentives have changed the rules of business and diplomacy, and there is no room for antagonism.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2023.

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