Qatari Diar is not entitled to resort to international arbitration against Egypt, unnamed sources told Shorouk News, following previous reports that the Qatari company would resort to international arbitration in an ongoing dispute over a New Cairo project.

Qatari Diar contracted with a law firm in Qatar to seek international arbitration against the Egyptian government, amid allegations that forces have taken over the land allocated for its City Gate project in New Cairo. However, the lawsuit has not yet been filed.

The sources moreover claim that such a claim is not within Qatari Diar’s rights, as the project is owned by, and being developed in collaboration with an Egyptian company named Bawabat Al-Sharq. The sources further claimed that the shareholders are also Egyptians, and that Qatari Diar thus does not have a right to international arbitration, particularly as there has been no investment contract signed between the Egyptian and Qatari governments.

The contract between the Qatari Company and NUCA stipulates that, in the case of dispute, the foreign party must resort to the Egyptian State Council and not international courts.

Further, the Qatari developer is accused of being in violation of its contract, having been scheduled to have completed 30% of the project at this stage. However, the company’s allegations that the land has been taken over thus preventing construction remain unaddressed in these accusations.