Egypt and Qatar agree to restore diplomatic relations

Egyptian Foreign Ministry says two countries exchanged official notices

The Egyptian government made a statement to resume diplomatic relations with Qatar. Getty Images

Egypt and Qatar agreed on Wednesday to restore diplomatic relations, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced.

“The Arab republic of Egypt and the state of Qatar exchanged today two official memoranda in which the two countries agreed to resume diplomatic relations,” the ministry said.

Egypt and Gulf Arab allies Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE agreed to end the boycott of Qatar this month during a summit of the Gulf Co-operation Council in Saudi Arabia.

The move ended a three-year Gulf crisis and travel, economic and diplomatic ties have started to resume.

Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim, attended the GCC summit for the first time since 2017, when the four countries cut ties with Doha after accusing it of supporting extremist groups.

In his opening address at the summit, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the region needed a co-ordinated front to face challenges, including Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missiles programmes.

This week, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said he expected the kingdom’s embassy in Doha to reopen “within days”.