Kuwait minister: Gulf Arab summit to be held on January 5

An annual Gulf Arab summit, usually held in December, will be hosted by Saudi Arabia on Jan. 5, Kuwait’s foreign minister said on Thursday in remarks published on the ministry website.

Sources familiar with the matter had told Reuters that the gathering would be pushed to next month while parties locked in a long-running dispute that led to a boycott of Qatar work on announcing a tangible deal towards resolving the row.

Three of the sources said they expected all heads of state to attend the summit, which has not brought Qatar’s emir together with leaders of boycotting states since 2017.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-Gulf Egypt severed diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar in mid-2017 over accusations it supports terrorism. Doha denies the charges and says the embargo aims to impinge on its sovereignty.