The permanent representatives of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to the United Nations, Ambassador Khalid A. Al-Nafisee and Ambassador Abdulaziz Al-Nasser respectively, have deposited the joint minutes and the two maps related to the land and maritime border delimitation agreement with the secretary general of the United Nations. The agreement was signed by Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of Interior and Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Al-Thani, the Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The ceremony on Thursday was attended by the assistant secretary general for legal affairs. This step is undertaken towards the implementation of the border agreement which was concluded in December 1965 and as a re-affirmation of the brotherly relations between the two countries. On his part, Ambassador Khalid A. Al-Nafisee expressed his deep satisfaction for the deposition of the joint minutes related to the land and maritime border delimitation agreement. He extolled the fruitful cooperation between the Kingdom and Qatar at all levels, which reflects the aspirations of the two countries to strengthen the bilateral friendly and brotherly relations. He added that the joint minutes, which is an integral part of the border agreement signed in 1965, were implemented in December 2008. He pointed out that depositing the minutes with the United Nations crowns the efforts to draw the boundaries between the two countries, extends bridges of continuity, partnership and cooperation, and reflects the wisdom and foresight of the leadership of the two brotherly countries. After the signing ceremony on Thursday, Al-Nafisee said the agreement was “the icing on the cake.” “We now have an internationally accepted document. The United Nations requires member states to register their maritime border agreements. The agreement then becomes an official UN document and is legally binding under international law,” he added.
