Qatar announced on Tuesday that it is working with the UAE to reopen each country's embassy to the other "in the coming weeks", after years of tension in their relations, and in a move that comes in the context of a series of diplomatic breakthroughs in the Middle East .

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed their relations with Qatar in 2017, accusing it of supporting extremist organizations in the region, accusing them of drawing them closer to Iran, before signing a reconciliation agreement in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, in January 2021.

"I believe that the opening of embassies between the two countries will take place in the coming weeks," said Majid al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a press conference in Doha.

He stressed that "the technical committees are now carrying out their work in this context, and it is expected that there will be reciprocal visits to consider the procedures that we need to reopen the embassies," noting that there is "positive progress in each meeting."

For his part, an Emirati official, who declined to be named, confirmed that "diplomatic relations are currently being activated, which will include the reopening of embassies between the two countries."

In a statement to Agence France-Presse, he said that relations between the two countries have resumed since the signing of the Al-Ula agreement, and "several visits took place between the two countries, which included discussions about continuing to develop relations and jointly achieving more mutual prosperity and progress in the two countries and the region."

Since 2021, relations have largely returned between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, but rapprochement with the UAE and Bahrain took longer. Last week, Qatar and Bahrain resumed their diplomatic relations two years after the Gulf reconciliation with Doha, following meetings between the two parties that discussed the differences between the two countries, including the maritime borders.

This comes in the midst of regional diplomatic efforts to resolve the region's crises, especially after Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed last month to resume the severed relations between them since 2016.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are the two most prominent regional powers in the Gulf, and they are on opposite sides in most regional files, most notably Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.

Observers and analysts hope that the Saudi-Iranian agreement will be reflected in regional files, especially Yemen, where Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition that supports the internationally recognized government, in the face of the Iranian-backed Houthis.

Saudi Arabia and the Houthis held talks in Sana'a this month, seeking to "stabilize the truce" and reach a "comprehensive and sustainable political solution" to the conflict. In recent days, about a thousand prisoners have been exchanged between the two sides.

In light of this atmosphere of calm, Damascus will receive, on Tuesday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, in the first official visit by a Saudi official since the estrangement between the two countries with the start of the conflict in Syria 12 years ago. This comes days after the visit of the Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to Jeddah.

The diplomatic movement comes at a time when Arab countries are discussing the possibility of Damascus returning to the Arab League, and with the approaching date of the Arab summit, which is scheduled to be hosted by Saudi Arabia on May 19.