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In brief

On 5 January 2021, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, along with Egypt, signed the “Al-Ula Declaration” at the 41st GCC Summit held in the city of Al-Ula, paving the way for the re-establishment of political and economic ties with the State of Qatar. This marks the end of a three-year dispute which began on 5 June 2017, and reinforces the commitment of the GCC member states to the political and economic stability of the region.


The breakthrough agreement follows the re-opening of Saudi Arabia’s airspace and land and sea borders with Qatar starting 4 January. We are confirming changes in policy and procedures with the relevant authorities and ministries in the GCC and Egypt in light of these developments.

The official text of the “Al-Ula Declaration” has yet to be made public. We will provide further updates as implementation of the agreement takes hold and as official statements and circulars are issued.

Please feel free to contact one of the lawyers above or your usual Baker McKenzie contact if you have any queries in the meantime.

For future updates, you can visit and subscribe to our Middle East Insights blog: me-insights.bakermckenzie.com/.

Author

Ian Siddell is a Senior Legal Consultant in Abdulaziz Alajlan & Partners - Legal Advisors, Riyadh office.

Author

Borys Dackiw has been a partner of Baker McKenzie since 1995. In 2008 Mr. Dackiw was appointed managing partner of the Gulf offices (including Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh and Bahrain), coordinating the opening of the Abu Dhabi and Doha offices and the merger in the UAE with Habib Al Mulla in July 2013. Mr. Dackiw is head of the Compliance practice in the Gulf and also advises on mergers & acquisitions (including privatizations), private equity and general corporate and commercial law. Borys regularly advises clients across various industries on their compliance and anti-bribery policies and programs and has participated in whistleblower interviews relating to allegations of bribery and other bribery-related investigations. He also works with in house legal teams of multi-national clients to deliver tailored trainings on anti-corruption issues, including legal developments and enforcement trends in the UAE. Prior to this appointment Borys, held the position of managing partner in the Prague (Czech Republic) and Kyiv (Ukraine) offices of Baker McKenzie.

Author

Mohsin Iqbal is a member of the Firm’s Global Projects and Banking & Finance groups and is based in the Firm's Doha office. Mr. Iqbal mainly practices in the area of banking, project and Islamic finance, and is consistently ranked in Chambers Global as a recognised expert for Projects in Qatar.