Qatar and Saudi leaders hold talks in Jeddah

Qatar’s ruling emir visited Saudi Arabia on Monday for the first time since signing a declaration with the Kingdom and other Arab Gulf states to ease a years-long rift and end an embargo that had frayed ties among important US allies and security partners, according to The Associated Press.

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani was greeted at the airport by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, according to Saudi and Qatari state-run media.

The meeting highlights how ties between the neighbors are improving following a decision earlier this year by Saudi Arabia to end its more than three-year-long embargo of the Gulf state.

It also signals a Saudi reset in foreign policy as a new administration led by President Joe Biden reassess US-Saudi ties, according to The Associated Press.

Qatar’s emir was last in Saudi Arabia for a high-level Gulf Arab summit that took place in January and which concluded with a declaration to ease the rift. It was his first visit to the Kingdom since ties had frayed in mid-2017.

Qatar is hosting the FIFA soccer World Cup next year.