Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE project ‘convening power’ as global conflict mediators
The international community is increasingly turning to the Gulf monarchies to mediate conflicts as trusted go-betweens, analysts say
Unlike great powers, which were often overly involved in conflicts to be considered fair arbiters, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states were “generally able and willing” to talk to all sides, said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a Middle East fellow of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston.
The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.
With their “convening power”, the Gulf monarchies could leverage their extensive global relationships to pass messages or maintain indirect channels of dialogue until “conditions are right for adversaries to engage directly with each other,” Ulrichsen told This Week In Asia.
This was evident from Qatar’s hosting of a Taliban delegation at the US’ request since 2012, which ultimately enabled Doha to mediate a 2020 peace deal resulting in the withdrawal of US-led occupation forces from Afghanistan the following year.
Likewise, Doha has accommodated the political leadership of Hamas for years at the request of the US and Israel and used its leverage over the Palestinian militant group to extract concessions while playing the role of interlocutor during ceasefire negotiations since the war in Gaza erupted in October 2023.