CAIRO, DEC 20 (Aswat Masriya) – Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday that both Egypt and Qatar have "responded" to the Saudi monarch's invitation "to consolidate relations between them".

Egypt and Qatar have both embraced King Abdullah's appeal out of full convinction in "the initiative's supreme contents in the interest of the two countries and two peoples", a statement by the Saudi Royal Court read, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on its official website.

The Qatari 'Emiri Diwan' also issued a statement welcoming the Saudi Royal Court's statement. Qatar "affirmed its complete support to sisterly Egypt" adding that "Egypt's security is important to the security of Qatar that the two countries are bound with deep ties and fraternal bonds", Qatari News Agency (QNA) reported.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met on Saturday with a Qatari Special envoy of the emir of Qatar and an envoy of King Abdullah.

King Abdullah had urged Egypt in November to back an agreement between the gulf countries brokered in Riyadh on Sunday to restore diplomatic relations with Qatar.

Egypt has withdrawn its ambassador to the Gulf state in March following critical comments made by Qatari emir Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Egypt's domestic affairs.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members held an emergency in November, where they agreed that the Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates would restore their ambassadors to Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar in March. They accused the gulf country of breaching the GCC's security agreements which ban any direct or indirect interference in member-states' domestic affairs.

The trio also accused Qatar of supporting "organisations and/or individuals that threaten member-states' security and stability," they said in a joint statement.

Egypt has summoned Qatar's ambassador twice in January after a statement by Doha saying it was "concerned by the large number of deaths following the suppression of protests across Egypt."

Egyptian ties with Qatar have deteriorated following the army's ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July, which was prompted by mass protests against his rule.

Qatar was a strong supporter of Mursi's regime. Its protest over the Islamist president's ouster led to tension with other gulf states who support Egypt's new regime, mostly Saudi Arabia and the UAE.