Qatar and Egypt have entered a new era of bilateral ties, boosting cooperation in areas that matter to both countries, Ambassador of Egypt H E Amr El Sherbini has said.
Addressing a press conference ahead of the Egypt National Day, observed yesterday, the ambassador said there is a lot of movement and mutual desire between the two sides for further strengthening bilateral relations.
El Sherbini said H H the Amir’s visit to Egypt is an important step towards developing bilateral relations in various fields.
“Bilateral ties of Qatar and Egypt are old and built on joint cooperation, mutual respect and understanding. And now we are in a new era of these relations, an era which witnesses fast and speedy development as reflected in several bilateral visits between the two countries by senior representatives.
“Both sides have shown strong aspirations to further improve the level of bilateral relations and reach broader horizons,” said El Sherbini.
He added that Qatar and Egypt are forward in improving relations in investment, commercial ties and joint consultations on regional matters, maritime transportation, environment-friendly projects, culture, and sports.
Speaking about investment opportunities, El Sherbini said Egypt has shown an economic growth of 5.9% and offers a favourable environment. He said both government and private sector have shown interest in investing in the Egyptian market.
Majority of Qatari investments are in sectors including oil, financial markets, and real estate and hospitality industry, said El Sherbini.
“Qatar is at number 10 among countries investing in Egypt. A total of 231 Qatari companies have invested in the Egyptian market with a capital of $4.6bn. Many key private companies in Qatar have also started buying shares in Egyptian companies,” he said.
El Sherbini also said Egypt has a keen interest in Qatar’s transition to modern and environment-friendly means of transportation.
“Environment-friendly projects, in particular, are a priority for Qatar and Egypt, so we are exploring ways to corporate in green economy and green hydrogen as well as environmentally-friendly electric busses,” he said, stating that Egypt hosting COP 27 UN Climate Change Conference in November in Sharm El Sheikh city will be an opportunity for more environment-related collaborations.
Terming areas of sports and culture as ‘soft powers in bilateral relations’, El Sherbini said these areas will further enhance the people-to-people connections in both countries.
About FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, he said, “We are happy to see Qatar hosting the World Cup, and this would be an achievement not only for Qatar but the entire Arab world. The success of Qatar 2022 will be for all the Arabs.”
“Although Egypt was not able to make it to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, we hope to bring our fans over to join the large Egyptian community here for the tournament,” he said.
