Egypt’s Minister of Labour Mohammed Saafan said an emergency committee has been established by the ministries of interior, foreign affairs, defence, immigration, and labour following the decision to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, during a televised interview Tuesday.
Saafan said that the ministries are ready to receive Egyptians; however, he stated that no decision has been announced by Qatar authorities towards Egyptian residents in Qatar.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a statement on Monday that the Greek embassy in Doha would handle Egyptians’ inquiries and procedures, and explained that Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry asked his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias to carry out Egypt’s diplomatic missions in Qatar.
The statement added that Greece is willing to offer any help in order to reach stability in the region.
Nonetheless, Egypt’s Ministry of Civil Aviation announced on Tuesday that all flights to and from Qatar are stopped until further notice, while the Egyptian Post announced that all postal service with Qatar are stopped starting Tuesday, according to a state-owned broadcaster.
While the government attempts to handle the situation, several institutions announced their support for the decision.
The National Press Authority (NPA) announced on Monday its support for the decision, asserting that the Qatari people “do not deserve what the terrorism supporting government is doing.”
NPA added that the Qatari regime should be deterred, and the Qatari media should stop disseminating news that lead to the division of Arabs.
NPA further called for a process of “path correction” under the guidance of Arab and Islamic powers.
Meanwhile, members of parliament (MPs) expressed on Monday their support to the state’s decision on cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar, and called for the implementation of further measures, reported state-owned media.
Chairperson of the parliamental Committee on Arab Affairs said that the decision came after “a lot of patience from the Egyptian side”, while other countries are pressuring Qatar to reconsider its policies and refrain from supporting terrorism.
MP Mostafa Bakry said that the parliament should take further decisions on the international level against the Qatari policies.
While MP and member of the parliamental foreign affairs committee Dalia Youssef said that Qatar’s presence in the Arab Coalition in Yemen was hindering stability in the country, as Qatar was supporting the Houthi militias, adding that the decision would negatively affect Qatar’s economy.
Furthermore, MP and member of the parliamental foreign affairs committee Tarek Al-Khouli said that the Arab League should also freeze Qatar’s membership, as well as end all economic agreements with Qatar.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ahmed Abouzeid commented on Tuesday in an interview with state owned Middle East News Agency (MENA) that the decision was normal in light of the latest policies followed by Qatar.
“Everyone knows now that the Qatari practices are imposing a threat not only to each country, but also on the collective Arab security,” Abouzeid added.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday that the Qatari ambassador to Egypt had 48 hours to leave to Qatar, after Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arabs Emirates, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced cutting diplomatic relations with Qatar, and shutting airfield and ports to all Qatari means of transport.
Egypt explained that Qatar showed “persistence in adopting a stance against Egypt,” supporting the Muslim Brotherhood group, lodging MB leaders, targeting Egypt’s security, promoting Al-Qaeda’s and the Islamic State’s (IS) ideology, and interfering in Egypt’s and other countries’ internal affairs. Cairo said that all previous attempts to stop Qatar from supporting terrorist organisations did not succeed.
