Relationship dossier
Qatar
Yemen
Relationship assessment
Qatari mediation and assistance have been offset by Yemen’s 2017 diplomatic break with Qatar.
Qatar toward Yemen
+15Qatar mediated between Yemen’s government and Houthi representatives, including through the 2008 Doha Agreement, and provided assistance for development and humanitarian purposes. Qatar also joined the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen in 2015, before being removed from the coalition in 2017.
Yemen toward Qatar
-15Yemen’s internationally recognized government severed diplomatic relations with Qatar in 2017 during the Gulf crisis. Earlier, that government requested the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen, which included Qatar until its removal from the coalition.
Overall relationship
+5The relationship has included substantive Qatari mediation and assistance, as well as Qatar’s participation in the coalition intervention requested by Yemen’s internationally recognized government. The 2017 severance of diplomatic relations and Qatar’s removal from the coalition were a major disruption. The extent of subsequent normalization is unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Qatar has engaged in mediation and humanitarian and development assistance in Yemen, and joined the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in 2015 at the request of Yemen’s internationally recognized government. Relations deteriorated during the 2017 Gulf crisis, when Yemen’s government severed ties with Qatar and Qatar was removed from the coalition. The record combines concrete cooperation with a significant diplomatic rupture.
Areas of tension
- Yemen’s 2017 severance of diplomatic relations with Qatar during the Gulf crisis.
- Qatar’s removal from the Saudi-led coalition intervening in Yemen in 2017.
Key developments
Qatar mediated an agreement between Yemen’s government and Houthi representatives, known as the Doha Agreement.
Qatar joined the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
Yemen severed diplomatic relations with Qatar, and Qatar was removed from the coalition intervening in Yemen.
Major uncertainties
- The extent of Qatar’s subsequent government-to-government assistance to Yemen is unclear.
- The status and scope of restored diplomatic relations between Qatar and Yemen are unclear.