Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has appointed Amr El Sherbiny as ambassador to Qatar in the latest move to re-establish relations between the two countries.
The decision was published in the state’s official Gazette on Wednesday.
Egypt – along with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – severed ties with Qatar in June 2017 due to the country’s alleged support of organisations linked to terrorism. Qatar denied the allegations.
In January, Qatar and the Arab Quartet signed the Al Ula Reconciliation Agreement to end the diplomatic and travel boycott, as well as mend relations.
Since then, the countries have reopened their air spaces and borders to one another, resumed some flights and held bilateral meetings.
Mr El Sisi met Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman in Cairo in May and earlier this month Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry made an official visit to Doha.
A letter from Mr El Sisi to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said positive Egyptian-Qatari relations will continue to develop in the mutual interest of both countries, according to a statement from Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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The absence of an Egyptian ambassador in Doha precedes the 2017 boycott.
Relations between the Arab Quartet and Qatar had been strained for years, following the removal of former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in the summer of 2013.
In March 2014, all four countries pulled their ambassadors from Qatar over its support for Islamists around the region.
The new Egyptian ambassador, Mr El Sherbiny, most recently served as deputy assistant foreign minister for United Nations Affairs in Cairo.
He previously was the deputy chief of mission at Egypt’s embassy in Brussels between 2015 and 2019.
