Egypt's Sisi invites Qatari emir to Cairo

DOHA, Qatar

Qatar's Emir Tam'im bin Hamad Al Thani received on Tuesday a letter from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inviting him to visit Cairo "at the earliest opportunity."

"The emir met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and received a written message from his brother, the Egyptian president, related to supporting relations between the two countries and ways to strengthen and develop them," the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) said.

The message relates to "the most prominent regional and international developments," QNA said.

On Sunday evening, Shoukry arrived in Doha on an official visit -- his first since the summer of 2013 when relations between the two countries were severed over Doha's rejection of ousting late President Mohamed Morsi.

For its part, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement: "Bearing a message from President al-Sisi, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, during his current visit to Doha."

The Foreign Ministry further said the message expressed the "importance of continuing consultation and working to advance relations between the two countries during the next stage, and looking forward to the continuation of mutual steps with the aim of resuming the various mechanisms of bilateral cooperation."

The letter referred to the tangible progress that the Egyptian-Qatari relations are witnessing, according to the statement.

During the meeting, Shoukry conveyed the Egyptian president's invitation to the Emir of Qatar to "visit Cairo at the earliest opportunity."

The Egyptian-Qatari relations witnessed positive steps after the signing of the Al-Ula Declaration in January in Saudi Arabia, which ended the Gulf crisis.

In March, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani made the first visit to Egypt since the reconciliation announcement, and on April 12, the Egyptian president received a phone call from the Qatari emir for Ramadan greetings.

Qatar's foreign minister made a second visit to Egypt last month and extended an invitation to Sisi from the emir to visit Doha.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat in Ankara