Egypt s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait and his Qatari counterpart Ali bin Ahmed Al-Kawary. Photo: Egyptian Cabinet
Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait and his Qatari counterpart Ali bin Ahmed Al-Kawary signed the MoU that is meant to foster cooperation and coordinate financial visions, positions, and policies at the bilateral and international levels, a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Finance read on Tuesday evening.
The MoU also aims to exchange expertise in the fields of taxation, customs, and financial policies.
According to the finance ministry, the MoU paves the way for reaching an agreement on preventing double taxation between the two sides with a view to stimulating joint investments.
The two ministers praised the tangible progress made in the course of bilateral relations.
The MoU is the latest episode of cooperation between Egypt and Qatar following the restoration in January 2021 of diplomatic, economic, and travel ties after a four-year hiatus.
Egypt and Qatar have worked on strengthening their newly-restored relations and reaching common ground on regional issues since Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) signed the Al-Ula Declaration with Qatar in January 2021, ending years of a diplomatic rift.
In the wake of the agreement, Egypt and Qatar held rounds of talks to develop relations, eventually forming the Egyptian-Qatari Joint Committee to foster and strengthen these ties.
Earlier in June, the Qatari minister met with Maait on the sidelines of the 2022 Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) in Sharm El-Sheikh, and affirmed the importance of boosting bilateral cooperation amid the current global economic crisis to mitigate its impact on citizens.
In March, during his meeting in Cairo with Qatar's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said the tangible progress in Egyptian-Qatari relations should serve the interests of the two countries and enhance the efforts to bolster the security and stability of the Arab region.
In that meeting, the Qatari FM affirmed to El-Sisi Doha's keenness to cement ties with Cairo.
Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Bin Abdulrahman held an extended meeting on a Qatari package of $5 billion in investments and partnerships in Egypt within "the framework of boosting economic cooperation."
This came a day after Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Bin Abdulrahman announced a decision to establish a high joint committee to boost cooperation and coordination on all fronts.
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