Qatari FM in first visit to Cairo since end of Gulf dispute

Qatar's top diplomat arrived in Cairo on Tuesday, becoming the highest-ranking Doha official to visit Egypt since the two sides reconciled in January.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani will lead a Qatari delegation at a ministerial session of the Cairo-based Arab League on Wednesday. The meeting will be chaired by Qatar.

Issues on the agenda include economic matters and human rights, as well as the Israel-Palestine conflict. Arab foreign ministers will hold a preliminary meeting to finalise the agenda items.

Al-Thani was last in Cairo in mid-2017. That year, Egypt joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in imposing a blockade on Qatar, which they accused of supporting terrorism. Doha staunchly denied the allegations.

The Saudi-led bloc agreed to lift the restrictions at a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in January, held in the Saudi desert city of Al-Ula, after diplomatic efforts from former US president Donald Trump's administration.

Soon after the agreement, air and travel links between Qatar and the four states were restored.

Qatari delegations met with their Emirati and Egyptian counterparts in Kuwait late last month for talks on "joint action" to implement the Al-Ula declaration.

Each of the four states who formerly led the blockade against Qatar will hold talks to resolve issues and "rebuild trust", according to a UAE official.

Read also: UAE, Qatar officials hold first meeting since Gulf dispute

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