The ongoing tour of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to six West African countries — Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Ghana — is significant as it is his first visit to the region since assuming office in 2013. This reflects Qatar’s keenness to expand its partnership with an important part of the world.
The Emir’s tour gives Qatar an opportunity to promote and develop bilateral relations with the six West African countries in various fields through signing important agreements and memoranda of understanding that would cement existing ties and develop new partnerships in various fields including, but not limited to, investment.
During the tour, the Emir will hold talks with the leaders and senior officials of the six countries on bilateral relations, discuss a number of issues of common concern and witness the signing of agreements and MoUs in various areas.
His Highness the Emir is accompanied during his tour by HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and a number of ministers, as well as a delegation from Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) which will carry out development projects in the fields of education, health and infrastructure in the six African countries.
During the visit, agreements will be signed for a number of projects, including $13.8mn for funding a cancer hospital in Burkina Faso and a programme for educating 596,000 children in Mali with an estimated contribution of $40mn as part of the ‘Educate a Child’ initiative.
Qatar has funded previous projects and provided material support to these countries through QFFD, such as projects in Mali totalling QR129mn. Qatar has also implemented projects valued at $42mn in Ghana, and provided aid estimated at more than $6mn to Cote d’Ivoire, $814,000 to Burkina Faso and $200,000 to Senegal. 
Highlighting the importance of the Emir’s tour of West Africa, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lulwa al-Khater has said that it aims to strengthen Qatar’s relations with West Africa, an economically promising region despite security challenges it faces.
Al-Khater stressed that Qatar works to support these countries through a comprehensive programme that includes educational and health dimensions and efforts to empower young people to prevent them from being recruited by extremist groups. 
This vision has been manifested through several projects to support African countries, such as those carried out by Silatech and QFFD, in addition to providing thousands of jobs for young people, as in the experience of the Qatari-Tunisian Friendship Fund.
This is the third foreign tour His Highness the Emir is undertaking after the unjust siege was imposed on Qatar by the Saudi-led quartet on June 5. Seen in this light, Emir’s current tour deals another blow to the efforts of the blockading countries to isolate Qatar and tarnish its image in the international community.
The current tour of the West African countries, and the earlier successful visits of the Emir to Europe, America and Asia since the imposition of the unjust siege, are in keeping with Qatar’s global plan to expand its relations with other countries for a better future based on constructive co-operation.
Like other visits, this tour shows the world that the unjust siege imposed on Qatar by its neighbours has not affected its plans, nor its aspirations, to achieve its goals. 
The fact that various countries have further enhanced relations and co-operation with Qatar and entered into new partnerships with the State is indicative of how Qatar has managed to turn the siege to its advantage.