Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir held meetings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with African leaders on the sidelines of the 29th African Union Summit to rally support for the countries that have imposed a blockade on Qatar. However, in response, the African leaders unanimously stressed the need for the Gulf crisis to end peacefully, Al Jazeera said.
Journalist Mohamed Taha Toukel, specialist in Horn of Africa affairs, told Al Jazeera that the meetings of the Saudi FM with six African leaders were meant to mobilise support for the blockading countries against Qatar. He added that the most important meetings were with the Ethiopian prime minister and the Sudanese second vice-president.