Egypt’s President heads to Qatar for 1st visit after 4-yr row

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi headed to Doha, the capital of Qatar, for a two-day visit, the first-of-its-kind in four years, according to a statement by the Egyptian presidency office.

"The visit, that is made after a four-year rift between the two countries, comes upon an invitation by the Qatari emir," the statement said on Tuesday.

"The two leaders will discuss the most important aspects of bilateral relations between the two countries. They will also hold consultations and coordination on various regional and international issues of common interest, which require concerted efforts to safeguard Arab national security," the statement added.

Qatari News Agency on Monday described the visit as marking "a new era in relations between the two Arab countries".

The Qatari emir visited Cairo in June. In late March, Cairo and Doha agreed to invest $5 billion in Egypt, Xinhua news agency reported.

In January 2021, the Arab quartet of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain signed the Al-Ula Declaration with Qatar, ending their all-around boycott of Doha since mid-2017.