Egypt, Qatar move closer to reconciliation
The foreign ministers of Egypt and Qatar met in Cairo for the first time since 2017 to discuss implementation of a reconciliation agreement amid a wider Gulf conflict.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani recently said that his country and Egypt are working toward rapprochement two months after the signing of a reconciliation agreement between the two sides.
In the first meeting since the two countries restored diplomatic relations as part of a reconciliation agreement that officially ended more than three years of Gulf division, Al-Thani met with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry in Cairo March 3 on the sidelines of an Arab League meeting.
In 2017, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar and imposed a diplomatic, trade and travel blockade against Doha over its alleged support for terrorism. Qatar has repeatedly denied their accusations.
“We in Qatar and our brothers in Egypt are looking at matters in a positive light and are striving to restore warm relations,” the Qatari minister said during a March 3 press conference in Cairo at the conclusion of the Arab League meeting held under the chairmanship of Qatar.
