Yemeni president appoints Qatar ambassador for first time in six years

Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi on Thursday appointed an ambassador to Qatar for the first time in six years.

The Yemeni official news agency Saba said that Rajeh Al-Badi, a spokesman for the internationally recognised government, had been appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Qatar.

He took the oath of office in front of President Hadi in Riyadh on Thursday, according to Saba.

The Yemeni capital Sanaa and most of northern Yemen is under the control of Houthi rebels and the internationally recognized Yemeni government operates from exile in Saudi Arabia.

Before the appointment of the ambassador, the Yemeni government was only been represented at charge d’affaires level in Doha.

The internationally recognized Yemeni government has been supported by an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia in its war against the Houthi rebels.

Its relations with Qatar were affected by the Gulf diplomatic crisis, which happened in 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar and imposed a blockade, accusing Doha of supporting extremist groups and maintaining secret ties to Iran.

President Hadi’s government followed suit and cut off its relations with Qatar.

Qatar vehemently denied the charges and in early 2021 the four blockading countries, along with the Yemeni government, restored relations with Doha, ending the crisis.In March 2021, Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awwad bin Mubarak visited Doha and announced the reopening of the Yemeni embassy.

During the Gulf diplomatic crisis, Sudan served as the protecting power for Yemen’s interests in Qatar.