Saudi FM Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud meets Qatari ruler Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud met with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Monday during his visit to Doha, becoming the highest-ranking Saudi official to visit Qatar since the two countries ended a diplomatic rift earlier this year.

In January, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt signed a declaration with Qatar ending a spat that lasted for three and a half years.

Faisal was received at the Doha airport by his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdel-Rahman, according to the Saudi Foreign Ministry, which posted pictures of the two on Twitter.

The Saudi diplomat then held talks with the Qatari emir, the official Qatari News Agency (QNA) reported.

Faisal carried a "verbal message" to Tamim from Saudi King Salman about "the strong brotherly relations" between the two countries, ways to strengthen them as well as prominent regional and international developments, QNA added.

In June 2017, the rift began when the four Arab countries severed diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting Islamist militant groups, an accusation that Doha denies.

Kuwait and the United States mediated a reconciliation.