NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday expressed his gratitude to all those from the Gulf region and beyond who “worked tirelessly towards resolving the Gulf rift.”

He singled out the late emir of Kuwait and the late sultan of Oman, expressing hope that “all countries concerned will continue to act in a positive spirit to strengthen their relations.”

Guterres said the AlUla Declaration on “solidarity and stability” announced at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Saudi Arabia “recognizes the importance of unity among the GCC states and aims to strengthen regional security, peace, stability and prosperity.”

He also welcomed Tuesday’s announcement on opening the airspace, land and sea borders between Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Qatar.

The AlUla Declaration puts an end to a crisis that started in 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar over its support of terrorist organizations, and asked Doha to comply with a list of demands. Qatar had denied supporting such organizations.