Egypt’s Sisi to attend GCC summit in Riyadh

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi will attend the Gulf Cooperation Council’s 41st summit that will be held in Riyadh on 5 January, on an invitation from Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, the German news agency DPA reported citing an anonymous source.

The source considered Al-Sisi’s participation in the summit to be a sign that the disagreeing parties will reach a rapprochement and end their disagreements, adding that the summit’s attendees will include Qatar’s Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

Egypt is not a member of the GCC, however in 2017 it joined GCC members Saudi Arabia, the UAe and Bahrain in launching a blockade on Doha.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al Thani announced last Wednesday that there are no political obstacles to reaching a resolution to the Gulf crisis.

He added that while the latest deliberations were held with Saudi Arabia only, Riyadh represented the other states involved in the conflict.

READ: Gulf ministers to discuss steps to resolve Qatar dispute