Qatar names envoys to Egypt, Libya as ties improve
Earlier this year, Cairo and Doha restored diplomatic links, ending long strains
Cairo: Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad has appointed an ambassador to Egypt amid growing ties between the two countries after strains of more than three years.
Last month, Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi appointed an ambassador to Doha as part of an agreement to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Emir Tamim also appointed Qatari ambassadors to Libya, a neighbour of Egypt, Turkey and Cyprus, according to Qatar’s news agency QNA.
In June, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry visited Qatar, the first visit by such a senior Egyptian official to Doha since the two countries restored diplomatic ties earlier this year.
The step came months after Egypt signed a declaration at a Gulf summit held in the Saudi city of AlUla in January ending a dispute between Qatar and a Saudi-led bloc including Cairo.
In April, Al Sissi and Tamim exchanged congratulations on the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, marking their first joint talk since the end of the regional dispute.
The national Egyptian and Qatari airlines also restarted flights between the two countries in a sign of a thaw in ties.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt had severed diplomatic and transportation links with Qatar in mid-2017.