Egyptian-Qatari Business Council Works on Reducing Political Tension

Moharam Hilal, a member of the Egyptian-Qatari Business Council, said the council is is working on reducing political tension between Cairo and Doha through working with investors and economic organizations in both countries.

“Economic relations between investors in the two countries have not been affected by what happened,” he said.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry summoned Qatar’s ambassador in Cairo on Saturday in light of Qatar expressing its concern over the increasing number of victims in demonstrations, and calling for dialogue between all political factions as the only solution to the political crisis.

Relations have been strained since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi on 3 July. Egypt returned to Qatar a one-time deposit of US$2 billion last September in light of the tension.

Qatar had provided Egypt with $8 billion at the outbreak of the 25 January 2011 revolution.

According to statistics from the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry, trade between Egypt and Qatar reached $383 million in 2011, and the total Qatari investments in Egypt hit $568 million in June 2012.

Source: Egypt Independent