Egypt restores visa regime with Qatar
By Kamila Aliyeva
The authorities of Egypt will restore the visa regime with Qatar from November 24.
The decision of the Egypt’s Interior Ministry was approved by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and published in the official media.
Qatari nationals intending to visit Egypt will have to obtain an entry visa. At the same time it remains unknown whether a visa will be required for Qatari married to Egyptians.
In October, the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa decided to restore the visa regime with Qatar.
Meanwhile, two Islamic organizations and 11 individuals have been added to an existing “terror list” drawn up by four Arab nations that are blockading Qatar, claiming the entities and individuals are supported by Doha.
State-run Saudi Press Agency issued a joint statement by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on November 23, saying the quartet's move was taken “in light of their commitment to fighting terrorism, drying up their sources of funding, combating extremist ideology…and its promotion.”
The four Arab states - Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain - in June cut off diplomatic relations, severed air, land and sea links with Qatar, accusing the latter of supporting terrorism, and ordered Qatari citizens to leave their countries within two weeks. A number of other states joined the decision later. Doha refused the accusations.
They issued a 13-point list of demands to end the standoff. The demands include shutting down the Al Jazeera news network, closing a Turkish military base, cutting ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, and downgrading relations with Tehran.
Qatar insisted it would not agree to any measures that threatened its sovereignty or violated international law.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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