Stuck in the middle, Qatari students and diplomatic crisis

Cairo- Dr. Hossam Al-Mallahi, First Under-Secretary for state cultural relations, missions and university affairs at the Ministry of Higher Education, said that cutting off diplomatic relations with Qatar will not affect the status of Qatari students studying at Egyptian universities. “No Qatari will be barred from our educational facilities just because of the political antics of their country’s leadership. Education must be set aside from political brawls for everyone’s good,” stressed Al-Mallahi.

In a statement to Al-Shorouk Newspaper, Al-Mallahi added that there are 1,738 Qatari students studying at public universities affiliated to the Egypt’s Supreme Council of Universities. There are other Qatari students studying in police and military academies, Al-Azhar University and some other private universities on Egyptian soil. Al-Mallahi added that Prime Minister of Egypt Sherif Ismail issued a decision that Qatari students in Egypt will not be affected by this diplomatic crisis.

Al-Mallahi stressed that Qatari students in Egypt live their lives and take their exams as normal. The same goes for Egyptian students in Qatar. “There is no pressure placed on Qatari students in Egypt or Egyptian students in Qatar. Indeed, Qatari students are our sons and daughters, and they deserve nothing but hospitality from us here in Egypt.”

On Monday, June 5, Egypt announced it would cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, further deepening a rift among Arab nations over Qatar’s support for Islamist groups and its relations with Iran.

Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all announced they would withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar, major Arab news agencies reported.