The United States and Qatar have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at combating terrorism financing, one of the top demands made by Saudi-led Gulf nations who have diplomatically blocked Qatar and blocked its access to air as well as sea ports. The MoU was signed on Tuesday during the visit of the United States’ Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is on a four-day trip to the region with an aim to mediate in the current crisis. The Saudi-led group presented Qatar with a 13 point demands list to comply with in exchange for the blockade removal. Qatar has so far rejected the demands, which include stop funding and supporting of extremist groups and terrorist organizations like Muslim Brotherhood and also closing down several Qatari media operating in the region, including internationally acclaimed Al Jazeera.

Tillerson said the agreement signed with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, had been under discussion for weeks, "The agreement which we both have signed on behalf of our governments represents weeks of intensive discussions between experts and reinvigorates the spirit of the Riyadh summit". President Trump attended a summit in Saudi Arabia in May, where leaders from more than 50 Muslim dominated countries were present.

Qatar’s foreign minister Al-Thani said, “at the trilateral level between the United States and Qatar, then a trilateral meeting with the presence of our brothers in Kuwait to discuss the latest developments in the Gulf crisis and the appreciated efforts by our brothers in the state of Kuwait and the help of our friends in the United States. As for the bilateral aspect of the meetings, we have agreed on many points, and we have signed a memorandum of understanding too – on combating financing terrorism. And this comes in the context of bilateral cooperation between the U.S. and Qatar, and as a result of the joint efforts to develop mechanisms to combat financing terrorism and exchange information and expertise to develop this mechanism and to develop the institutions between different countries.”

Here are the key comments from Secretary Tillerson, “I am here in Qatar today carrying with me the same spirit which President Trump traveled in Riyadh within May. The United States has one goal: drive terrorism off the face of the Earth. The President said, and I quote, “Every country in the region has an absolute duty to ensure that terrorists find no sanctuary on their soil.” The agreement in which we both have signed on behalf of our governments represents weeks of intensive discussions between experts and reinvigorates the spirit of the Riyadh summit. The memorandum lays out a series of steps the two countries will take over the coming months and years to interrupt and disable terror financing flows and intensify counterterrorism activities globally. The agreement includes milestones to ensure both countries are accountable to their commitments.”

However, the Saudi-led group said that Qatar signing the MoU is simply not enough and the blockade would continue unless Qatar gives into the demands made.