Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made his first visit to Qatar on 13 September.

The office of the president announced that the two-day visit aims to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries and coordinate positions on regional and international issues.

The visit is considered an important shift in the relationship between the two countries, which have been at odds over their political discourse, such as the role of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood has been labeled a terrorist organization since 2013 in Egypt, with many of its members fleeing to take refuge in Qatar.

According to Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady, the visit is intended to “strengthen the frameworks of joint bilateral cooperation at all levels.”

Meanwhile, Qatar News Agency (QNA) described the visit as “a new era” between both countries.

Mohamed Morsi, the former Egyptian ambassador to Qatar, indicated that President Sisi’s visit to the gulf state is a fundamental shift in the relationship between the two Arab countries and will bring many economic benefits to his country.

The Emir of Qatar visited Egypt in June 2022, in an effort to calm the waters between both states. 

Egypt cut ties with Qatar in June 2017, along with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain, after Cairo accused Doha of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, which the Egyptian army ousted from power in 2013.

In January 2021, the four countries restored their previous relationship with Qatar.

In late March, Qatar announced that it would invest more than $4.5 billion in Egypt, which still suffers from the recent pandemic, and inflation exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, prompting Cairo to devalue its currency by more than 17% in the last two months. 

The energy giant QatarEnergy also announced that it would invest in a gas exploration block off Egypt in the Mediterranean sea, following an agreement with US Exxon Mobile to acquire a 40-percent stake in the project.