President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi issued a decree equating King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa with Egyptians in terms of property ownership in Sinai, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported on Sunday.
The Egyptian law restricts land and property ownership in Sinai to Egyptians who hold no other nationality and are born to Egyptian parents.
The amendment, as published in the official gazette, would allow Al Khalifa to purchase three villas in Sharm El-Sheikh's Naama Bay for the sake of residency.
Al Khalifa visited Naama Bay in April.
In 2012, El-Sisi, then defence minister, banned the ownership of land in Sinai by non-Egyptians and completely banned the ownership of property in “strategic areas” of military importance including all land and property within five kilometres of Egypt’s borders with Gaza, except property in the Northern Sinai city of Rafah.
The law, before its amendment, used to grant Arabs the same rights as Egyptians enabling them to own houses in Sinai and stipulated a 99-year lease period.
