Egypt, Qatar form joint committee to boost cooperation after ties restored

Egypt and Qatar have formed a joint committee led by the foreign ministers of the two countries to boost cooperation in several fields after ties have been restored, the two top diplomats announced in a press conference on Monday.

Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry and his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani,  who is also Qatar's deputy prime minister, praised the efforts of the committees in boosting ties between the two countries during the Al-Ula Summit.

"We believe that all [differences] in relations have ended with the Al-Ula [summit] declaration and the follow-up committees," Shoukry told reporters during the press conference.

In January 2021, Egypt, along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, dubbed the Arab quartet, signed the Al-Ula Declaration with Qatar, restoring diplomatic, economic, and travel relations after a boycott was imposed on Qatar by the four countries since mid-2017. 

Responding to a question regarding the future relationship between Egypt and Qatar, Al-Thani said, "We see that the horizon of ties between Qatar and Egypt is broad and we aim to boost partnership and communication between the two countries on all levels." 

"The past period, marred by tension, has come to an end," he added. 

Relations between Egypt and Qatar began to significantly deteriorate after the Sisi-dominated regime in Egypt accused Qatar of harbouring leaders and members of the Muslim Brotherhood and financially supporting them. Since 2014, the Muslim Brotherhood has been designated a terrorist group in Egypt.

In 2013, Abdel Fattah Sisi, who was defence minister at the time, led a military coup that overthrew late president Mohamed Morsi, who was a senior member of the Brotherhood. One year later, Sisi officially took office.

Thousands of members of the Muslim Brotherhood are currently either held in detention, have been sentenced to death and awaiting execution, or are in self-imposed exile outside Egypt.