New diplomatic crisis between Qatar and Egypt
Regional, Politics, 11/10/1997

Qatar was expected to retaliate to Egypt's recent move of recalling its ambassador back to Cairo by recalling the Qatari ambassador back to Doha. But Qatari authorities announced surprisingly that Qatar has no intention of deepening the Qatari-Egyptian diplomatic rift and will not recall its ambassador from Cairo.

"We will not recall our ambassador from Cairo for consultations. Our relations with Egypt are firm, irrespective of whether that country attends the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) conference or not," Foreign Ministry spokesman Fawaz al-Attiyah said at a press conference held yesterday in Doha.

Although Egypt recalled its ambassador Mohamed Mohamed Menisi for what it termed as mere "consultations," the move has been described as having given a new turn to diplomatic ties between the two countries.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry received a letter from the Egyptian ambassador last Thursday saying that he is leaving Qatar on an "indefinite" vacation. Later, an Egyptian official said the envoy had been "recalled to Cairo for consultations."

Asked whether the Egyptian envoy's departure to Cairo was seen as a move by that country to boycott the Mena conference, Qatar`s Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "Qatar respects Egypt's decisions and its role in the Arab world. President Mubarak's recent statements have touched upon our internal affairs, but we still carry a lot of respect for him and the Egyptian people."

But the diplomatic rift does not simply stem from the fact that Egypt will not attend Mena conference. A recent media campaign in Egypt had shown Qatar in bad light and a section of the Qatari press retaliated to the Egyptian move. A prominent Qatari journalist had written an article in one of Qatar's local newspapers.

"This should not be considered as a media campaign against Egypt. It could have been better to explain why the Egyptian press has been publishing several articles against Qatar in the past few months," the spokesman said. The spokesman said Qatar "will not accept any media campaign against Egypt."

He said: "There is no relationship between the official position and what has been published." He expressed regret over the recent anti-Qatar campaign in the Egyptian press.

If anti-Egypt statements in a section of the Qatari press have been cited as reason for Egypt to recall its ambassador, "the Qatari ambassador should have been recalled several months ago," the spokesman said.

At present, the two countries have not initiated any high-level talks with regard to the present situation. The Foreign Ministry spokesman denied that a temporary ban on entry of Egyptian nationals to Qatar because of the Mena conference, nor a ban on work visas for Egyptians were reasons enough for any strain in relations between the two countries.

An Egyptian official had remarked that the ambassador was recalled by Cairo for consultations regarding the visa issue. Qatar responded to that by saying that many countries who host international conferences like Mena take such security measures beforehand.

As for work visas for Egyptians, which have also been suspended by Qatari authorities recently, Qatar said that those are tied to market requirements and the need for Egyptian workforce and that this matter applies to nationals from 70 countries who work in the state of Qatar.

Previous Stories:
  More pressure on Egyptian government against MENA   (11/1/1997)
  Lebanese citizens banned from entering Qatar?   (10/24/1997)
  Egypt's views unchanged on MENA despite US statement   (10/18/1997)

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