Arab League welcomes Bahrain-Qatar deal

The Arab League welcomed on Thursday the Bahrain-Qatari deal on settling their border dispute cordially and forming a supreme committee to be headed by the two countries' crown princes.

Secretary General Esmat Abdel Meguid told reporters that the Arab League welcomes this deal which was concluded during a visit by Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani to Manama.

Abdel Meguid said that the League considers the deal a "proof to the two countries' serious desire to settle this conflict and their keenness to realize a political and peaceful solution through dialogue and arbitration."

He hoped that the deal would be a "key step and an example to be followed in Arab-Arab relations in resolving conflicts, mainly border conflicts."

Qatar and Bahrain, members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), agreed, among other things last Tuesday, on forming a supreme committee in charge of developing relations in all spheres, mainly the border dispute.

Both Manama and Doha claim sovereignty over the Islands of Hawar, which Bahrain has been controlling since the 1930s.