Qatar - Egypt relations still tense despite Qatari emir's planned visit

Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Al-Khaleifa will arrive in Cairo on March 22 for his first visit to Egypt since a political crisis broke out between the two states after Qatar's accusation that the Egyptian government contributed to the failed coup attempt in Qatar at the end of 1996.

Despite the Qatari emir's visit to Egypt at the invitation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, disputes still continue between the states -- especially between Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and his Qatari counterpart Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabir. Moussa refused to visit Qatar to participate in the Organization of the Islamic Conference's foreign ministers in Doha, in which Egypt is represented by an aide to the foreign minister, ambassador Sayed Kasem El-Masri.

ArabicNews.com was informed that the Qatari foreign minister will neither accompany Sheikh Hamad on his visit to Egypt nor participate in the Arab countries' foreign ministers meetings on March 24.