On 29 November 2017, Ahmed Shafik announced his intention to run in the Egyptian presidential election, but a few hours later announced that the United Arab Emirates prevented him from leaving its territory after announcing his intention to run in the presidential election which was denied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash and said in a series of tweets on Twitter, that there was "no obstacle" for Shafiq to leave the UAE, and that the UAE was "sad" to learn that Mr. Shafik was ungrateful. "We facilitated matters for him and we have generously welcomed him, despite our strong reservations about some of his stances," Gargash wrote.
On November 29, 2017, Ahmed Shafik announced he would run in Egypt's presidential election; however, a few hours later, he stated that the United Arab Emirates prevented him from leaving its territory after declaring his candidacy. This decision was contested by Anwar Gargash, who tweeted multiple times asserting there were "no obstacles" for Shafik to leave and expressing sadness about his perceived ungratefulness. According to Gargash, they had assisted him and welcomed him despite their concerns regarding some of his stances.