Recently-elected President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi sent a message to his Qatari counterpart thanking him for an earlier cable of congratulations that the leader of the oil-rich country had sent. In his letter El-Sisi also expressed his "deep wishes for progress and prosperity for the brotherly people of Qatar". Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad sent the cable to El-Sisi on Sunday on the occasion of his taking the oath as president of the "sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt." Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al-Thani also sent a congratulatory telegram to the newly-inaugurated president. El-Sisi was sworn-in on Sunday in a ceremony broadcast live on television and attended by a host of Arab royals and African leaders. Western allies, some of whom have voiced concerns about Egypt's progress to democracy, sent low-level officials or were represented by ambassadors. Ties between Qatar and Egypt have been strained since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who was strongly supported by Doha, last July on the back of mass protests against his yearlong rule. Egypt singled out several countries – including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Palestine, Chad, Eritrea, and the US – with invitations to royals, parliament heads and senior government officials attending the swearing-in ceremony and luncheon afterwards. Qatar's ambassador to Cairo, Saif Moqadam Al-Boenain, attended the ceremony based on "protocol, a traditional invitation to members of the diplomatic corps in Egypt," said Nasser Kamel, an official in Egypt's foreign ministry. Source : Ahram online
