Egypt and Qatar have agreed to resume diplomatic relations. With this, Egypt has become the first country to officially resume ties under an Arab deal to end a long-running dispute with Doha.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt agreed earlier this month to restore diplomatic, trade and travel ties severed in 2017 over allegations Qatar supported terrorism, a charge that Doha denies.

"The Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Qatar exchanged, today, January 20, 2021, two official memoranda, in virtue of which the two countries agreed to resume diplomatic relations," a foreign ministry statement said on Wednesday.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said the kingdom expects to reopen its embassy in Qatar within days, and full diplomatic relations between the two would resume.

The UAE, which followed Saudi in reopening all entry points to Qatar, has said restoring diplomatic ties will take time. Bahrain has reopened its air space to Qatar, as has Egypt.

The US-backed accord to end the row was one of a series of Middle East deals by former President Donald Trump's administration aimed at building a united front against Iran.

When the boycott was announced, Egypt and its allies called on Qatar to cut ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, among other demands. Doha said the embargo aimed to curtail its sovereignty.

The Islamist group was outlawed in Egypt after then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the overthrow of the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi from the presidency in 2013, before being elected president himself the following year.

Much of the Muslim Brotherhood's senior leadership was jailed in Egypt but other members took refuge abroad in Qatar or its regional ally Turkey.

Egypt and Qatar have agreed to resume diplomatic relations. With this, Egypt has become the first country to officially resume ties under an Arab deal to end a long-running dispute with Doha.

Egypt and Qatar have agreed to resume diplomatic relations. With this, Egypt has become the first country to officially resume ties under an Arab deal to end a long-running dispute with Doha. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt agreed earlier this month to restore diplomatic, trade and travel ties severed in 2017 over allegations Qatar supported terrorism, a charge that Doha denies. "The Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Qatar exchanged, today, January 20, 2021, two official memoranda, in virtue of which the two countries agreed to resume diplomatic relations," a foreign ministry statement said on Wednesday. On Saturday, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said the kingdom expects to reopen its embassy in Qatar within days, and full diplomatic relations between the two would resume. The UAE, which followed Saudi in reopening all entry points to Qatar, has said restoring diplomatic ties will take time. Bahrain has reopened its air space to Qatar, as has Egypt. The US-backed accord to end the row was one of a series of Middle East deals by former President Donald Trump's administration aimed at building a united front against Iran. When the boycott was announced, Egypt and its allies called on Qatar to cut ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, among other demands. Doha said the embargo aimed to curtail its sovereignty. The Islamist group was outlawed in Egypt after then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the overthrow of the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi from the presidency in 2013, before being elected president himself the following year. Much of the Muslim Brotherhood's senior leadership was jailed in Egypt but other members took refuge abroad in Qatar or its regional ally Turkey.

Egypt and Qatar agree to resume diplomatic ties

Egypt will end visa-free entry for Qatari nationals with some exceptions, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Monday, the latest measure taken against Doha which Cairo and three Gulf governments are boycotting. 
 
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt imposed sanctions on Qatar on June 5, cutting diplomatic and transport ties with the tiny Gulf monarchy, after accusing it of financing militant groups and allying with their regional arch-foe Iran. Doha denies the accusations. 
 
&quot;It does not make sense to keep making exceptions for Qatar and giving it privileges in light of its current positions,&quot; said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid. Qatari nationals will now have to apply for a visa in order to enter Egypt. 
 
Qatari nationals with Egyptian mothers, those married to Egyptians, and Qataris studying in Egypt will be exempt from having to apply for a visa, he added. 
 
Sources at Cairo International Airport told Reuters the decision would be implemented as of Thursday July 20, which the Qatari Foreign Ministry later confirmed on Twitter. 
 
Foreign workers make up around 1.6 million of Qatar&#39;s 2.5 million population, and hundreds of thousands of them are Egyptians, making them one of the biggest foreign contingents in the Gulf country. So far no action has been taken against them. 
 
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told his Kuwaiti counterpart earlier on Monday that Egypt is standing by the list of demands it and the three Gulf countries made of Qatar and will keep sanctions against Doha in place. 
 
Kuwait has been leading mediation efforts between Qatar and the four Arab states boycotting it. Its top diplomat Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah met Shoukry and President Abdel Fattah al Sisi in Cairo on Monday.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The Foreign Minister affirmed to his Kuwaiti counterpart Egypt&#39;s commitment to the list of demands presented to the state of Qatar and the continuation of sanctions taken against it,&quot; Abu Zeid said in a statement earlier.&nbsp; 
 
The insistence comes &quot;in light of what the quartet states see as Qatar&#39;s stalling and procrastination, and lack of concern for the concerns of the four states,&quot; he said. 
 
Shoukry told Sabah the only way the crisis would be resolved was if Qatar fulfilled the demands, which include curtailing its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, shutting down the pan-Arab al Jazeera satellite TV channel, closing a Turkish military base and downgrading its relations with rival Iran. 
 
Sisi told Sabah he appreciated what Kuwait&#39;s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah was doing to preserve Arab unity but that Egypt would not let anyone interfere in its affairs and would stand strong against policies that support terrorism, his spokesman Alaa Youssef said in a statement.

The Arab states want Qatar to curtail its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, shut down the pan-Arab al Jazeera TV channel, close a Turkish military base and downgrade its relations with rival Iran

Egypt will end visa-free entry for Qatari nationals with some exceptions, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Monday, the latest measure taken against Doha which Cairo and three Gulf governments are boycotting. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt imposed sanctions on Qatar on June 5, cutting diplomatic and transport ties with the tiny Gulf monarchy, after accusing it of financing militant groups and allying with their regional arch-foe Iran. Doha denies the accusations. "It does not make sense to keep making exceptions for Qatar and giving it privileges in light of its current positions," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid. Qatari nationals will now have to apply for a visa in order to enter Egypt. Qatari nationals with Egyptian mothers, those married to Egyptians, and Qataris studying in Egypt will be exempt from having to apply for a visa, he added. Sources at Cairo International Airport told Reuters the decision would be implemented as of Thursday July 20, which the Qatari Foreign Ministry later confirmed on Twitter. Foreign workers make up around 1.6 million of Qatar's 2.5 million population, and hundreds of thousands of them are Egyptians, making them one of the biggest foreign contingents in the Gulf country. So far no action has been taken against them. Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told his Kuwaiti counterpart earlier on Monday that Egypt is standing by the list of demands it and the three Gulf countries made of Qatar and will keep sanctions against Doha in place. Kuwait has been leading mediation efforts between Qatar and the four Arab states boycotting it. Its top diplomat Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah met Shoukry and President Abdel Fattah al Sisi in Cairo on Monday. "The Foreign Minister affirmed to his Kuwaiti counterpart Egypt's commitment to the list of demands presented to the state of Qatar and the continuation of sanctions taken against it," Abu Zeid said in a statement earlier. The insistence comes "in light of what the quartet states see as Qatar's stalling and procrastination, and lack of concern for the concerns of the four states," he said. Shoukry told Sabah the only way the crisis would be resolved was if Qatar fulfilled the demands, which include curtailing its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, shutting down the pan-Arab al Jazeera satellite TV channel, closing a Turkish military base and downgrading its relations with rival Iran. Sisi told Sabah he appreciated what Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah was doing to preserve Arab unity but that Egypt would not let anyone interfere in its affairs and would stand strong against policies that support terrorism, his spokesman Alaa Youssef said in a statement.

Egypt ends visa-free entry for Qataris, insists Doha meets demands

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Egypt and Qatar agree to resume diplomatic ties

Egypt ends visa-free entry for Qataris, insists Doha meets demands