Qatar’s defence minister Khalid bin Mohamed Al-Attiyah said Qatar wanted to become a full member of the 29-country alliance.

“Regarding the membership, we are a main ally from outside NATO.. The ambition is full membership if our partnership with NATO develops and our vision is clear.” Attiyah told the official magazine of the Qatari defence ministry, Altalaya.

He added that there was a growing relationship between Qatar and the alliance, and Doha could host “NATO’s units or one of its specialised centres”.

Exactly a year ago, on June 5, 2017, a group of countries including Saudi Arabia the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt abruptly severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and Iran.

For the past year, Qatar has been isolated by its neighbouring former allies with its only land border closed by Saudi Arabia and its residents expelled from the quartet’s countries.