Bahrain's emir Sheikh Hamad al-Khalifa will visit Qatar on Tuesday, just four days after the neighboring Gulf states settled a 60-year-old territorial dispute in the World Court, a Qatari official told AFP Monday.
"This visit is the first step in the rapprochement between the two countries after closing the file of territorial conflict," the official, declining to be identified, told AFP.
The International Court of Justice attributed Friday Hawar Isands and Qitat Jarada island to Bahrain, while the Zubara strip, Fasht al-Dibel rocks and Jinan island went to Qatar.
"It is a way of opening a new page in bilateral relations," the official told the agency.
Sheikh Hamad's visit comes in response to Qatari Emir’s visit on March 2 to Manama, the official said.
On Sunday, Bahrin’s emir met with Emirati President Sheikh Zayed al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, reported the Gulf Daily.
Sheikh Hamad "hailed UAE President's role in finding a solution to the territorial dispute with Qatar," a source told the paper.
Both leaders discussed bilateral and regional issues in the Gulf and the Middle East, the source added.
Sheikh Hamad was in Saudi Arabia Saturday and held talks with King Fahd and also thanked him for his role in the border settlement.
Saudi Arabia's intervention in the dispute served as a safety valve when the two countries were at the brink of war - Albawaba.com
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