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UAE backs Qatar in hosting 2026 World Bank and IMF meetings

By Pramod Kumar
Reuters/Abacapress.com/Eliot Blondet
UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan pledged support for Qatar's bid to host the meetings

The UAE will support Qatar as a potential host for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in 2026 after withdrawing its own bid.

The decision came during a phone call between UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, state news agency WAM reported.

In the phone call, Sheikh Mohammed pledged the UAE’s support for Qatar’s bid to host the meetings.

The two leaders also “explored areas for further collaboration”, the statement said.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt ended the over three year embargo on ties with Qatar in early 2021.

Relations between Abu Dhabi and Doha have warmed in recent months with Sheikh Mohammed visiting Qatar during the Fifa World Cup in December 2022.

Last month Bahrain and Qatar held the first round of bilateral talks to resume diplomatic relations. Abu Dhabi, similar to Manama, has not appointed an envoy to Doha, but has resumed travel and trade links with Qatar.

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