Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani agree to continuing consultation to boost bilateral relations during the coming period as they met in Baghdad on Saturday.

They also agreed to proceed with mutual steps aimed at resuming the two countries' bilateral cooperation mechanisms, Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.

The agreement comes in line with the progress taking place in the path of the Egyptian-Qatari relations within the framework of the Al-Ula declaration, Rady added.

El-Sisi’s meeting with Sheikh Tamim of Qatar took place on the sidelines of the Baghdad Conference on Cooperation and Partnership, which started in the Iraqi capital Saturday.

Al-Ula Agreement

Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council signed the Al-Ula agreement for Arab reconciliation with Qatar last January during the 41st GCC summit in Saudi Arabia. The declaration ended around 3.5 years of rift between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors in addition to Egypt.

In the wake of the declaration, Egypt and Qatar agreed to move beyond their dispute and work towards settling all outstanding issues.

In June, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdul-Rahman Al Thani in Doha.

In an official statement both ministers expressed satisfaction with developments in Egyptian-Qatari relations following the signing of Al-Ula Declaration and agreed to fully restore diplomatic relations.

El-Sisi and the Qatari emir have also exchanged telephone calls and invitations to visit.

After the signing of the agreement, flag carriers Qatar Airways and EgyptAir also resumed flights to the two countries' capitals.

This comes in addition to rounds of meetings of joint Egyptian-Qatari committees that have been held this year to follow up on the development of the bilateral relations following the agreement.

Positive Progress

During his Saturday meeting with El-Sisi, Sheikh Tamim voiced Qatar’s appreciation of the positive progress seen in the Egyptian-Qatari relations, the presidential spokesman said.

The Qatari emir also hailed the recent exchange of visits between the two countries and the resumption of their cooperation frameworks.

Sheikh Tamim affirmed Qatar’s aspiration to enhance consultations with Egypt over the ways to strengthen the bilateral relations in a way that serves the interests of both countries.

This comes especially in light of the strategic and pivotal role Egypt plays under President El-Sisi to establish security, stability and development on the regional level and within the framework of defending the Arab issues, Rady explained.

“Mr. President [El-Sisi] also affirmed Egypt’s keenness on comprehensive, productive cooperation for the sake of prosperity, construction, development and support to Arab solidarity,” the spokesman noted.

The president also noted that this keenness on cooperation comes within the framework of mutual respect, joint interests and sincere intensions as a firm principle and approach of the Egyptian policy, according to the spokesman.

Exchanging Ambassadors 

In late July, the Qatari emir issued a decree appointing Salem bin Mubarak Al-Shafi as an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Egypt. Al-Shafi is the first Qatari ambassador to Cairo in four years.