Greece officially represents Egypt in Qatar

CAIRO – 17 June 2017: Greek authorities has officially undertaken the representation of Egypt in Qatar after several countries severed diplomatic ties with Doha over accusations of supporting terrorist groups, according to the Greek newspaper Ekhathimerini.

The newspaper quoted a statement by the Greek Foreign Ministry as saying “Following the completion of the relevant negotiations, an agreement was signed a short while ago between Greece and the Arab Republic of Egypt on the diplomatic representation of Egypt in Qatar by the Greek Embassy in Doha.”

The statement continues: “The agreement enters into force immediately and covers diplomatic, administrative and consular affairs.”

Greece has agreed to stand as Egypt’s representative in Qatar amid the rift between the two countries.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry asked his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias to step in during a telephone conversation.

“In the light of friendly traditional relations between Greece and the Arab world, Athens has agreed to Cairo’s request to represent it in Qatar in order to contribute in any way possible to regional cooperation and stability,” the Greek Foreign Ministry previously stated.

At least 13 countries, including Egypt, along with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Libya’s eastern-based government and Maldives severed diplomatic ties with Doha on June 5 over accusations of Qatar backing terrorist groups.