The fifth annual strategic dialogue between Qatar and the United States will kick off Tuesday in Doha and will be chaired by HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The dialogue addresses several issues of mutual interest, including regional stability, defence co-operation, public health, counterterrorism, combating human trafficking, human rights, climate change, energy efficiency and independence, humanitarian assistance, strategic investments, economic co-operation, and cultural and educational exchanges.
Adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Majed bin Mohamed al-Ansari stressed that strategic dialogues are a milestone in the relations between the two countries and reflect the well-established and advanced level of partnership in all fields.
He also noted that the celebration of the two partners of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the classification of Qatar as a major non-Nato ally of the US, and the continuous close co-operation between the two countries in bilateral, regional and international fields all serve as evidence of a shared commitment to enhance those relations.
In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Dr al-Ansari said that these dialogues also demonstrate the concept of co-ordination on regional and global issues, and enhance bilateral co-operation in the fields of health, humanitarian assistance, international development, human rights, regional co-operation and climate change, as well as trade, investment, culture and education. He also expressed his full confidence that the outcomes of the fifth session of the strategic dialogue will contribute to reinforcing long-term co-operation, including continuous co-ordination to bring peace and stability to the region.
Dr al-Ansari also noted the coincidence of the strategic dialogue with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, praising the close co-operation between Qatar and the US to ensure a safe and successful tournament. He added that the two sides recently have had in-depth discussions on cybersecurity, law enforcement training, public relations, and human rights. He also stressed that Qatar and the US share a common interest in combating human trafficking and promoting labour rights, pointing to the US Department of States recognition of Assistant Undersecretary of Labour Mohamed al-Obaidly as a Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report Hero as evidence of the progress made by Qatar on this issue.
Dr al-Ansari also complimented the strong security partnership between the two countries, including co-operation in law enforcement, aviation, border security, countering violent extremism, countering terrorism, and countering financing of terrorism. He reaffirmed the commitment of Qatar to provide $75mn over five years and implement efforts to support the work of the UN Office on countering terrorism. Al-Ansari also indicated that relations between Qatar and the United States have been established through various institutions throughout different periods of time, stressing that the distinguished partnership shown by the two countries in dealing with the Afghanistan issue, especially on relocation efforts, clearly reflects the high level of these well-established relations. Al-Ansari also said that Qatar operates in an environment of international, bilateral, and multilateral alliances, and considers the United States its strongest ally and its most important partner in many fields.
He expressed his confidence that the close strategic cooperation will continue between the two countries on various issues.
The Qatar-US Strategic Dialogue first kicked off in January 2018, and its fourth annual edition was in Nov 2021 in Washington.
In the first edition of the Qatar-US Strategic Dialogue, both sides discussed partnership in the fields of defense, counter-terrorism, combating extremism, trade and investment, and they signed various Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and letters of intent in the fields of bilateral trade, investment and technology.
The two governments issued a joint declaration on security cooperation, affirmed their joint commitment to promoting peace and stability and combating the scourge of terrorism, and expressed their common desire to strengthen their bilateral relations in the energy sector and sign an MoU to enhance bilateral cooperation.
The second edition saw both sides signing three MoUs and a letter of intent between the two countries as part of efforts to confirm their long-term commitment to strengthening existing partnerships.
The two governments discussed strengthening the defense partnership to maintain stability in the region by increasing the operational capacity of US forces stationed in Qatar, and discussed counterterrorism and law enforcement partnerships as part of their ongoing joint efforts to prevent extremism and violence.
In the third edition, Qatar and the United States, as major energy producers, stressed the importance of their joint efforts to create a transparent and competitive energy market and support access to affordable and reliable energy in order to create a global energy market, for the benefit of consumers and producers.
The two sides affirmed their commitment to the joint declaration on security cooperation to promote peace and security and combat terrorism, which was signed between the two sides in the first strategic dialogue in Jan.
2018.
The two sides committed themselves to continuing consultations on the possibility of a permanent presence of the US military base in Qatar, and discussed the foreign military sales program worth $26 bn, which reflects the strength of the partnership and military cooperation between the two countries.
The two sides also affirmed their strong and permanent bilateral security partnership.
The fourth edition of the Strategic Dialogue concluded with a commitment to continue cooperation in implementing global programs specifically designed to support Member States and other stakeholders in combating terrorism in order to enhance support for the UN counter-terrorism operations, including the review of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and United Nations counter-terrorism reports, and to enhance coordination and consistency in the efforts of Member States to combat terrorism at the international level, with the support of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact.
Both countries stressed the importance of securing major sporting events, promoting sport and its values as a tool to prevent violent extremism, and emphasized the importance of supporting victims of terrorism and establishing national inter-agency coordination mechanisms, or "fusion cells"