CAIRO —
Egypt’s leader on Saturday discussed energy and investment
with Qatar’s emir, who was in Cairo for the first time since the countries
restored relations following a Saudi-led rift.
اضافة اعلان
Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani told President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi that his country was
keen to “maximize Qatari investments in Egypt and take advantage of the vast
investment opportunities available”, according to an Egyptian presidency
statement.
The pair discussed developing cooperation “in
various fields, especially in the energy and agriculture sectors”, and in trade
and investment, “particularly the flow of Qatari investments towards Egypt”,
the statement added.
In late March, Cairo said the gas-rich Gulf state
would be investing $5 billion in Egypt.
At the same time, Qatari hydrocarbon giant
QatarEnergy announced an agreement with ExxonMobil to acquire a 40 percent
stake in a gas exploration block off Egypt in the Mediterranean.
No new agreements were announced during the emir’s
two-day trip, which concluded Saturday and was his first to Cairo since 2015.
After relations between Egypt and Qatar were
restored in January 2021, Sisi and the Qatari emir had only met twice, both
times on the sidelines of summits abroad.
Egypt had joined
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies
the UAE and Bahrain in breaking off relations with Qatar in June 2017, citing
its support for the Muslim Brotherhood and alleged soft line on Iran.
The Islamist group was founded in Egypt in the 1920s
before spreading through the Arab world.
The Egyptian government banned the brotherhood in
2013 following the overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi, who hailed from the
movement.
According to Egyptian presidency, the emir also
“praised Egypt’s ongoing efforts on reconstruction in the Gaza Strip”.
Doha and Cairo — key US allies in the Middle East —
have both provided reconstruction aid to the territory and have been involved
with mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas.
The two leaders also welcomed next month’s
GCC summit in Saudi Arabia that will also be attended by the leaders of Egypt,
Jordan, Iraq and the US, the presidency statement said.
The emir’s visit comes just days after Saudi crown
prince Mohammed bin Salman this week conducted a regional tour taking in Egypt,
Jordan and Turkey.
Saudi and Egyptian companies signed agreements worth
a total of $7.7 billion during the visit, state media in both countries said.
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
