King Mohammed VI on Visit to Abu Dhabi, Qatar

King Mohammed VI arrived in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday (November 7) for a friendly and working visit to the United Arab Emirates.

The Monarch will also pay an official visit to Qatar as of next Sunday (Nov. 12), said the Ministry of the Royal Household, Protocol and Chancellery in a statement.

During the visit, the Monarch will also attend the inauguration of the Abu Dhabi Louvre Museum to take place on Wednesday.

The royal visit is taking place at a time Qatar is in a standoff with its Gulf neighbors, namely the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, plus Egypt.

Since the outbreak of the crisis, when the four countries severed their relations with Qatar over its alleged support of terrorism, and sidelining with Iran, King Mohammed VI maintained close and continuous contact with different parties and Morocco expressed its willingness to mediate to defuse the crisis.

A statement released then by the Moroccan foreign Ministry had pointed out that King Mohammed VI called on all parties to show restraint and wisdom in order to defuse tension and overcome the crisis with a view to “finding a lasting settlement to the causes that have led to the current situation in line with the spirit that has always characterized the GCC”.

Morocco, which remains closely linked to Gulf countries in all fields despite geographic distance, is very concerned with this crisis although it is not directly involved in it,” the statement had said, noting that the North African Kingdom has adopted a constructive neutrality “which does not confine it to a passive observation of a disturbing escalation between brotherly countries.”