Border Opens As Qatar Blockade Ends O Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Cites Qatar-Saudi Deal Towards Ending Rift
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BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 1 Minister Dakar Rally: Qatari inaugurates GWC driver al-Attiyah logistics hub in Ras wins second Bufontas Free Zone stage, rises to third published in QATAR since 1978 TUESDAY Vol. XXXXI No. 11784 January 5, 2021 Jumada I 21, 1442 AH GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Amir to chair Qatar’s delegation to 41st GCC Summit in Saudi today Border opens as Qatar blockade ends O Kuwaiti foreign minister cites Qatar-Saudi deal towards ending rift QNA, AFP, Reuters eign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmed Nasser al- signing the Al-Ula declaration, which he confi dence that leaders of GCC members Doha/Kuwait City/Washington Mohamed al-Sabah announced that Saudi added would serve as a fresh start for broth- and Egypt are keen to ensure that the sum- Arabia would reopen its airspace and land erly ties unobstructed by any diff erences. mit will be one of reconciliation and solidar- and sea border to Qatar, citing a deal towards He said that, based on a proposal by the ity, and that all issues could be addressed so is Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim ending a dispute in which Riyadh and its allies Amir of Kuwait, the two sides agreed to open that things could return to normal. bin Hamad al-Thani will chair Qa- imposed a boycott on Qatar since mid-2017. airspace as well as land and sea border start- “Based on (Kuwait’s ruler Amir) Sheikh Htar’s delegation participating in the Sheikh Dr Ahmed said that the Amir of ing Monday night. Nawaf’s proposal, it was agreed to open the 41st session of the Supreme Council of the Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al- Sheikh Dr Ahmed added that the Amir of airspace and land and sea borders between Co-operation Council for the Arab States Sabah held phone calls with His Highness the Kuwait expressed his great gratitude to Cus- the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of of the Gulf (GCC), set to take place today in Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and todian of the Two Holy Mosques King Sal- Qatar, starting from this (Monday) evening,” Al-Ula Governorate in Saudi Arabia, Qatar Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister man bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mo- said Kuwaiti foreign minister on state TV. News Agency reported. and Minister of Defence Mohamed bin Salman. hamed bin Salman for their commitment to A breakthrough has been reached in Qa- The confi rmation of His Highness the He added that the calls stressed the com- the success of the summit. tar’s dispute with Saudi Arabia and three Amir’s participation came after Kuwaiti For- mitment of all parties involved to unity by The Amir of Kuwait also expressed his other Arab countries and an agreement aimed at ending their rift is to be signed in Saudi Arabia today, a senior Trump admin- Amir receives message from Kuwaiti leader istration offi cial said in Washington. Saudi state agency SPA quoted Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman as say- ing the annual gathering of Gulf leaders would unite Gulf ranks “in the face of chal- lenges facing the region”. The US offi cial said the Saudi crown prince and His Highness the Amir of Qatar would sign the deal. White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, assigned to work on the dispute by US President Donald Trump, helped negotiate the deal and was working the phones on it until the wee hours of yes- terday morning, the offi cial said. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani Kushner, joined by Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz and Brian Hook, a special State and Saudi Arabia, local Arabic daily Arrayah reported. Department adviser, were fl ying to the Saudi Al-Hajraf stressed that this step, which comes on the eve of Arabian city of Al-Ula to attend the ceremo- the GCC Summit, refl ects the great care and sincere eff orts be- ny, the US offi cial said. ing made to ensure the success of the summit, which is held un- “It’s just a massive breakthrough,” the der exceptional circumstances. Al-Hajraf stressed that the peo- His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani received a verbal message from the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed official said. “The blockade will be lifted. It ple of the GCC countries are proud of this step, and are looking al-Jaber al-Sabah, pertaining to the solid fraternal ties between the two countries and the prospects for enhancing them, in addition to will allow for travel amongst the countries to the future with all hopes, aspirations and opportunities to- the joint GCC action. The message was handed over by Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmed Nasser al-Mohamed al-Sabah, during as well as goods. It will lead to more sta- wards a coherent and compact Gulf entity that moves ahead the a meeting with His Highness the Amir at his off ice at Al Bahr Palace yesterday evening. At the outset of the meeting, Sheikh Dr Ahmed bility in the region.” The GCC Secretary- wheel of development, progress, security and stability. Nasser conveyed the Kuwaiti Amir’s greetings to His Highness the Amir, wishing him good health and happiness and the Qatari people General Dr Nayef bin Falah al-Hajraf yes- The GCC secretary-general extended his gratitude, appre- further progress and prosperity. For his part, the Amir entrusted Kuwait’s foreign minister to convey his greetings to Sheikh Nawaf, terday welcomed the opening of airspace ciation and congratulations to the leaders and people of the wishing him good health and the Kuwaiti people further progress and prosperity. Page 2 and land and sea borders between Qatar GCC states, Arrayah added. ‘Container stadium’ getting shipshape Three more health centres off er Covid-19 vaccination By Joseph Varghese Within the fi rst one week, over 10% of The Ministry of Public Health Staff Reporter the target group has been vaccinated (MoPH) recently announced that it and we hope that all the others in the has lowered the age limit for Covid-19 country will be vaccinated in the com- vaccine eligibility to those aged 65 and hree more health centres have ing months,” said Dr Abdul Malik. above from 70. started providing the Covid-19 The other seven designated PHCC Vaccinations at health centres will Tvaccine while over 10% of the health centres for Covid-19 vaccina- continue to be given to people with target group in the fi rst phase of vac- tion are: Al Wajbah, Leabaib, Al Ru- pre-arranged appointments that fall cination were inoculated during the wais, Umm Salal, Rawdat Al Khail, under the priority groups of people fi rst week, a top offi cial told Gulf Times Al Thumama and Muaither. The fi rst aged 65 and above; people with severe yesterday. phase of the vaccination runs until chronic conditions and healthcare “Al Khor, Qatar University and Al January 31. workers with repeated exposure to Waab health centres have been added PHCC has also launched a dedicated Covid-19. to the existing seven health centres for hotline 4027707 to enable those aged Members of the community who are Covid-19 vaccination,” Primary Health 65 and above to book, cancel or sched- eligible for the vaccine will continue to Care Corporation (PHCC) managing ule pre-booked Covid-19 vaccination be contacted through phone/SMS by director Dr Mariam Abdul Malik said appointments. The dedicated line is the PHCC team to invite them to at- in reply to a question. currently available from 7am-11pm. tend an appointment at one of the ten A view of the under-construction Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, the first fully demountable and re-usable tournament venue All other health centres under PHCC “To ensure that we are further pri- designated health centres. in FIFA World Cup history, and located 10km from Doha city centre. With less than two years to go until the FIFA World will be included to provide the vaccina- oritising those mostly at risk of se- The vaccine will be off ered more Cup Qatar 2022, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) made major progress in stadium delivery during tion in the coming days, the offi cial said. vere complications from Covid-19 we widely throughout the year. The MoPH 2020, it was announced yesterday. Designed by Fenwick Iribarren Architects, the 40,000-capacity Ras Abu Aboud “The vaccination campaign is pro- have now activated a dedicated hotline is working with the pharmaceutical Stadium is being built using 998 shipping containers and other modular materials. Overlooking Doha Corniche and gressing very rapidly and smoothly at number. This dedicated number will companies to ensure the next ship- West Bay skyline, the stadium will host seven matches up to the round of 16 stage during Qatar 2022. The delivery all the centres. With the age limit re- improve accessibility for our clients and ment of vaccines arrives in Qatar as and installation of all containers are complete. This includes special containers for the completed Kahramaa primary duced to 65 to be eligible for the fi rst encourage uptake of the vaccine by pro- early as possible and everyone who substation. All remaining structural steel members, including tension rods, have also been delivered and installed. phase of vaccination, more people viding further fl exibility on appoint- needs to be vaccinated will be able to Installation of all seats in the stadium’s bowl has also been completed. Sport Pages 2, 3 have been included to the fi rst phase.