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On Wednesday, Egypt hailed a “new era” in Arab solidarity after the Gulf nations agreed to welcome Qatar back into the fold following a dispute over it support of Islamists. Egypt said that it had offered its full support to the move, which it called as “huge step towards Arab solidarity”.
“We look forward to a new era that would end past disputes and spread hope and optimism to our peoples”, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s office said.
The Egyptian army had last year deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, leading to strained ties with Qatar, a key Morsi supporter. His ousting led to differences among the Gulf countries, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE hailing Sisi, while Qatar has repeatedly denounced it.
Tensions had hit a new low in March when the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain announced that they would call back their envoys in Qatar, protesting its “interference” in their internal affairs. Egypt had already called back its ambassador in February; curiously enough, Qatar still kept its envoy Cairo. Gulf leaders on Sunday agreed to send their envoys back to Doha, signaling an end to the tiff.
On Wednesday, Saudi King Abdullah urged “Egypt, the people and leadership, to seek with us the success of this (reconciliation) move as part of Arab solidarity”, the official SPA news agency reported.
He also said that Saudi Arabia looked forward “to the start of a new phase of consensus” among Arab nations and hoped for “security and stability for our people amid these circumstances and challenges” facing the Middle East.
The agreement offers “a general framework for unity, consensus, and an end to differences” among Arab nations, King Abdullah added.
Ties between Doha and Cairo had also been strained over the conviction and prison terms handed out to three reporters from the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera for supporting Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood and for spreading false information.
