Riyadh Welcomes First Flight from Doha after Reconciliation

Families await the arrival of their loved ones from Qatar on Monday. (Saad al-Dossary)
Families await the arrival of their loved ones from Qatar on Monday. (Saad al-Dossary)
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Riyadh Welcomes First Flight from Doha after Reconciliation

Families await the arrival of their loved ones from Qatar on Monday. (Saad al-Dossary)
Families await the arrival of their loved ones from Qatar on Monday. (Saad al-Dossary)

Flights resumed between Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Monday as the Saudi capital warmly received travelers from the neighboring country.

The first flight from Doha to Riyadh in three years landed at the King Khalid International Airport.

The flight was the first since the signing last week of the AlUla declaration that ended the Gulf dispute between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt with Doha over its support and financing of terrorism.

The declaration, signed during AlUla’s hosting of the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council summit, ended the diplomatic and economic boycott imposed by the quartet against Qatar since 2017.

Saudi Arabia reopened its only land border with Qatar on Saturday.

Among the arrivals on Monday was an 11-year-old child, who caught the attention of the media because he was traveling by himself. His was eagerly being awaited by his mother’s relatives at the airport.

Khaled told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Gulf reconciliation allowed him to be reunited with his family for the first time in three years.

On Monday, Qatar Airways tweeted that services to Jeddah and Dammam would resume later in the week.

Bahrain and the UAE have both opened their airspace to Qatari aviation under the AlUla declaration but there has been no word on when the first direct flights will take off.



Saudi, Brazilian Foreign Ministers Sign MoU to Establish Coordination Council

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira. SPA
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira. SPA
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Saudi, Brazilian Foreign Ministers Sign MoU to Establish Coordination Council

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira. SPA
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira. SPA

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has met with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira in Rio de Janeiro on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

The two officials reviewed relations and discussed regional and international developments.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the ministers signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a Saudi-Brazilian Coordination Council, building on the agreement reached between the two countries' leaders during Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's visit to Saudi Arabia on November 30, 2023.

Director-General of the Office of the Foreign Minister Abdulrahman Aldawood and Saudi Ambassador to Brazil Dr. Faisal bin Ibrahim Ghulam were in attendance.