KATHMANDU, Jan 6: Nepal on Wednesday welcomed the decision of the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar to reopen the land, air and sea borders between the two countries.

Issuing a press statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said that Nepal believes that the important steps taken by the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries at the GCC Summit on Tuesday will contribute to the resolution of outstanding issues among some of its member States and lead towards stability and cooperation in the region.

"Nepal enjoys close bilateral relations with all the GCC countries. The Government and people of Nepal always wish for peace, prosperity and development in the Gulf region," read the press statement.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia opened its land border with Qatar, and other Gulf nation Kuwait is set to reopen its airspace and sea border, according to Kuwaiti officials.

The move of Saudi Arabia is expected pave the way towards resolving a political dispute that led Riyadh and its allies to impose a boycott on Qatar, media reports said.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a diplomatic, trade and travel boycott on Qatar, alleging Doha of supporting “terrorism” and having ties with Iran that were deemed too close.

However, Qatar has repeatedly denied the allegations and said there was “no legitimate justification” for the severance of relations.

 
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