Egypt fears backlash if it cuts ties with Qatar
Egypt is hesitating to join the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and cut ties with Qatar, because the government fears the repercussions such a step would have for the many Egyptians working in Qatar.
On March 6, the Egyptian Council of Ministers declared that Egypt’s ambassador to Qatar, who was summoned to Cairo in early February, will not return to Doha at the moment, and that he is on indefinite leave. At the same time, Egyptian politicians asserted that the presence of Egyptian workers in Qatar is the only reason behind the Egyptian government not taking a decision to finalize withdrawing its ambassador as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain did, despite a strong Egyptian desire to do so.
Various political forces in Egypt asked the government to follow suit on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) decision and to formally withdraw Egypt’s ambassador from Qatar and announce the cutting of ties, after Qatar wasted all opportunities given to it and insisted on interfering in Egypt’s internal affairs and damaging Egypt’s security.
There were media reports that the Egyptian government is seriously considering a similar position to that of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.
According to Egyptian government statistics, about 135,000 Egyptians work in Qatar in different occupations, including medicine, engineering, law and the judiciary, in addition to professional disciplines in various projects including building and construction. Thus, it is hard for the Egyptian government to suddenly cut ties with Qatar and close the Egyptian Embassy there, according to Zainab Kheir, the director of the Egyptian Association for Economic and Social Rights. Speaking to Al-Monitor, she confirmed that the Egyptian government should think hard before taking such a decision and carefully study its implications.
