Qatar Emir Tamim to make first Egypt visit since boycott: sources

Qatar's monarch will visit Egypt on Friday, his first trip to the country since Egypt and three Gulf countries  agreed last year to lift their blockade of Qatar and re-establish relations, diplomatic sources said.

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who last visited Egypt in 2015, will hold a formal meeting with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo on Saturday, the sources said.

He met Sisi for the first time since the dispute at a summit in Iraq last year.

There was no immediate comment from Qatari authorities.

The emir's visit comes days after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Cairo and the announcement of $7.7 billion in investment deals between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain broke off relations with Qatar from 2017 to early 2021 and imposed a blockade, accusing the Gulf country of supporting "terrorism".

Qatar vehemently denied the claim.

With Egypt facing economic headwinds as a result of Russia's brutal war in Ukraine, its cabinet said in March that Egypt and Qatar had agreed to sign investment deals worth $5 billion.

(Reuters and The New Arab Staff)