In his remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Dr al-Ansari said that Qatar — as a proactive and influential partner in the international community and an effective member of the UN — always works to strengthen its position in this international body, in particular, and the international community in general through its active participation in the UNGA meetings.
He added that the annual speeches of His Highness the Amir before the UNGA include a clearly delivered group of visions and ideas, setting the directions for Qatar’s foreign policy and its work within the multilateral international framework.
He stressed that participating in the UNGA meetings represents an annual opportunity to emphasise Qatar’s foreign policy firm stances and a chance to push toward clear directions regarding basic issues in which Qatar believes.
Thus, there are always constants in the Amir’s speech that always form an essential part of Qatar’s foreign policy, on top of which are the Palestinian cause and regional issues.
He pointed out that the Amir’s presence in the UNGA draws the attention of various parties and that the meetings held on the sidelines of His Highness’ participation in the UNGA represent the bedrock of Qatar’s foreign policy.
He said that this annual gathering, which brings together a large number of leaders of world countries under one umbrella, gives a chance to push forward the agenda for Qatar’s foreign policy. In addition, the great respect that His Highness the Amir enjoys through his participation in the UNGA confirms the success of this participation and its importance in the international context.
He indicated that Qatar’s participation in the UNGA meetings also includes the launch of a number of important initiatives by Qatar, as in 2022 a group of initiatives were launched, led by the “Women in Conflict Zones” initiative, in addition to holding an event on combating child trafficking in sports. Another side event came to commemorate the adoption of the Doha Program of Action for the Least Developed Countries, in addition to the “The Scoring Moment” for sustainable development, which was held two months ahead of hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
He noted that all the initiatives put forward by Qatar in the UNGA are part of the State’s continuous active role in the UN through its Permanent Mission in New York headed by HE the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the UN Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif al-Thani, as the mission makes immense efforts to consolidate Qatar’s relation with the UN and ensure that Qatar’s role is generally influential within the organisation. Dr al-Ansari said that the issue of mediation and resolving disputes by peaceful means comes at the heart of Qatar’s international influential roles, especially since it comes within Qatar’s foreign policy constants.
He added that the mediation role played by Qatar is not a marginal issue in its foreign policy but rather a principle stipulated in its permanent constitution to consolidate international peace and security by promoting the peaceful resolution of international disputes.
He indicated that out of that role, Qatari diplomacy engaged during the past few years in several successful mediations, including putting an end to the presidential vacuum in Lebanon in 2008, signing the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), mediating between Eritrea and Djibouti, the release of hostages in Syria, in addition to working to achieve reconciliation between the Palestinians.
In the same context, a peace agreement was achieved between the US and Taliban, which required a tremendous effort and ended the longest war in the history of the US and the suffering of the Afghan people that lasted for more than 20 years. In addition, Qatar hosted the intra-Afghan negotiations, the indirect talks between the US and Iran regarding the nuclear deal, and the signing of Chadian parties on the Doha Peace Agreement. Qatar’s latest mediation efforts was between the US and Tehran to release some prisoners and open a humanitarian channel in the same agreement. Dr al-Ansari stressed that Qatar’s success in mediation is a direct result of the wise leadership’s interest in the success of any negotiations and also of the political will in Qatar that makes sure to have a clear role regarding resolving conflicts and peaceful solutions. (QNA)
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