Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Saturday said that that the Egyptian-Qatari relations are on the right track following several meetings between the two sides to follow up on the al-Ula summit in Saudi Arabia back in January.
During a telephone interview with Kalema Akhera’s (Last word) host Lamis al-Hadidi, Shoukry said that many of the differences that existed between the two nations during the boycott period are now gone.
Egypt and Qatar agreed to resume diplomatic relations in January. The agreements come after nearly four years of a row between Qatar and Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE over Qatar’s alleged terrorism sponsorship and its close relations with Iran.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry has acknowledged in January the agreements, which came as part of the “solidarity and stability” agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar during the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)’s summit meeting in al-Ula.
Egypt and the other three countries involved in the dispute agreed to restore ties with Qatar immediately after the summit. The dispute included a trade and travel embargo against Qatar by the Arab quartet, which has now been lifted.
Despite the agreement, Egypt likely remains wary of Qatar due to its connections with the Muslim Brotherhood and the harsh coverage Cairo receives from Qatari media, specifically state-run Al Jazeera.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received the Qatari’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani late May in Cairo along with the head of the Qatari State Security Service, Abdullah Al-Khulaifi. Thani extended an invitation for Sisi to visit Doha.
