Qatar, Egypt sign memoranda of understanding
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi holds an official session of talks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the royal palace in Doha.
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A handout picture released by the Qatar Emiri Diwan on September 14, 2022, shows Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meeting at the Royal Palace in Doha. AFP.
Wednesday saw the signing of multiple memoranda of agreement between Egypt and Qatar, according to official media, as President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi paid his first visit to the Gulf nation since the two countries' diplomatic spat was resolved.
El-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani "witnessed the signing of a memorandum of agreement between Qatar Investment Authority and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt for investment and development," according to a statement on the Emir's office website.
They also signed an MoU on "cooperation in the field of ports" and another on "cooperation in the field of social affairs," the website added.
Qatari and Egyptian ministers and other officials also attended the signing ceremony, the office said.
El-Sisi and the Emir discussed the development and strengthening of relations, particularly considering the fields of investment, transport, and social affairs, the Emir's office stated. He also met with business representatives on Wednesday, the official news agency QNA said.
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In June 2017, Cairo cut ties with Qatar together with Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, on the grounds that Doha supported radical Islamist organizations and was too close to Riyadh's competitor, Iran. Doha vigorously refuted these claims.
Te blockade was lifted in January 2021.
In June this year, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with the Qatari emir on a two-day visit.
The Qatari Emir's visit to Cairo aimed at ensuring the cementing of overall bilateral relations in various fields, as well as discussing developments in regional and international political issues of mutual interest, according to the official spokesperson for the Presidency of the Republic in Egypt.
The Emir met El-Sisi at the airport on Tuesday, for a visit QNA described as "a new era in relations."
When the Emir visited Cairo in June, collaboration in the energy and agricultural sectors, as well as Qatari investments in Egypt's cash-strapped country were on the table.
Late in March, Cairo reported that Qatar intended to invest $5 billion in Egypt, and the world's largest oil and gas company, QatarEnergy, signed a deal to buy a 40% stake in a gas exploration block in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt from ExxonMobil.
