Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Friday said steps to implement an agreement ending a diplomatic row between four Arab countries and Qatar is going well and indicators in this regard are all positive. In remarks to MBC Masr's Al-Hekaya TV show, which is hosted by Amr Adib, Shoukry said the full implementation of the Al-Ula agreement will pave the way for further restoration of normal relations between Egypt and Qatar. Egypt, along with Gulf states Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, signed Al-Ula reconciliation agreement with Qatar in January, ending a rift with Doha, which lasted over three years. Egypt has fulfilled all its commitments under the agreement and Qatar has also fulfilled some of these commitments, Shoukry said, noting that Egypt will make sure all commitments on all sides are fulfilled. The minister said a relevant committee concerned with monitoring the implementation of the commitments convenes periodically at the political and legal levels. He noted that the committee from both countries will hold a meeting during the coming few days. Egypt had been keen that the relations between the Egyptian and Qatari people do not get harmed due to the past tensions, he said. Recent contacts included a phone call between Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in April on the occasion of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan. Also, Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani met in March with his Egyptian counterpart, Shoukry, in Cairo on the sidelines of a meeting of Arab states. The ministers also coordinated their stances via phone on the recent Israeli aggression on the Palestinian Gaza Strip, affirming the need for a ceasefire.
