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Diplomatic ties bode well for Qatar-Bahrain causeway

18 April 2023

Commentary

Colin Foreman

Editor

The restoration of diplomatic ties between Bahrain and Qatar in mid-April will improve the prospects of the $4bn Qatar-Bahrain Causeway moving ahead.

The opening of formal communication channels will mean that future calls to restart the project may make more progress than previous attempts.

In March 2022, Manama called for work to restart on the causeway joining the two countries. “We in the Kingdom of Bahrain renew the call for the start of bilateral talks between the two sides in accordance with the mechanisms agreed upon in the Al-Ula statement,” said Bahrain’s undersecretary for land transportation and post in a statement published by the official Bahrain News Agency.

Sources close to the Bahraini government said at the end of last year that Manama had not had any reply from Doha about restarting the long-awaited project.

The causeway had been on hold for seven years before Manama severed diplomatic ties with Doha in 2017. Saudi Arabia and the UAE also severed ties. The diplomatic crisis ended in January 2021 with the signing of the Al-Ula declaration at the 41st GCC summit.

The proposed project is a key link for the GCC rail network. After years of slow progress, work on the regional rail scheme has accelerated recently, with design work advancing on several close border links.

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Colin Foreman

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