Egypt thaws relations with Qatar after long-running feud
Egypt signed a reconciliation agreement with Qatar, along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, aimed at ending the Gulf blockade imposed on Doha since 2017, but it seems pending issues remain, including the Muslim Brotherhood, preventing full restoration of ties between Cairo and Doha.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry signed Jan. 5 a reconciliation agreement with Qatar during a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in the Saudi city of al-Ula.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on its Facebook page that Egypt “is keen on [maintaining] solidarity among the Arab Quartet countries and their efforts to close ranks and remove any disagreements among brotherly Arab nations.”
The ministry called for “building on this step to strengthen the Arab action and support relations between the brotherly Arab countries, based on goodwill and noninterference in the internal affairs of other countries.”
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain severed diplomatic and trade relations with Qatar in 2017, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist groups. Qatar has denied the accusation, saying the Saudi-led blockade aims to infringe on its sovereignty.
