Sourced : Financial Post
By Jesse Snyder
Qatar’s diplomatic break from several of its Middle Eastern rivals on Monday could have far-reaching reverberations. Saudi Arabia, apart from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, moved to cut off diplomatic ties with the small Gulf emirate, citing the country’s support for terrorist groups.
The move included a blockade of the Saudi-Qatar border, as well as air and sea travel restrictions between the emirate and several Middle Eastern states.
From a sleepy backwater in the 1990s, Qatar’s fortunes changed when Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani ousted his father in a bloodless coup in 1995, and went about monetising the country’s natural gas reserves and transforming it into one of the world’s richest countries in per capita terms.
His son Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani took over in 2013, as the elder Thani stepped aside in a peaceful transfer of power.
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