al-Mudahka
Editor-in-Chief
Previously, His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani witnessed the inauguration of George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University in College Station, which is a two-hour drive from Houston. Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser has visited Texas A&M University. Former US President George H W Bush, also from Texas, and his wife Barbara, have visited Doha.
The binding and friendly relations between Houston and Doha are based on mutual interests in the educational, economic, cultural and energy fields. The warm ties have been demonstrated by the close co-operation between Hamad Bin Khalifa University and Baker Institute, which are working together since 2012 on the exchange of Public Diplomacy and Global Policymaking. Qatar Foundation hosts in Education City a branch campus of Texas A&M University.
The co-operation between the two cities also led to the organisation of many conferences, including the Energy and Economic Diversification Policies Roundtable between Qatar Leadership Centre and Baker Institute in February 2017. The mutual visits and other interactions were easily facilitated with direct flights of Qatar Airways from Doha to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
As for my personal experience, I always enjoyed the valuable advice of director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Edward Peter Djerejian, who was a great advocate of modern values.
I have some great friends in Houston who always worked to strengthen Qatar-US ties. Among them are David L Phillips, chairman, and Aida Araissi, founder of Houston-based US-Arab Chamber of Commerce.
I acknowledge all those great people in Texas who are friends of Qatar and who always strive to help Qatar as and when the need arises.
Just recently, Texas-based ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum signed an agreement to co-operate in the exploration and production-sharing of an oilfield off the southern coast of Cyprus. Houston is also home for some of the world’s most advanced medical centres. The mutual high-level visits between Doha and Houston, along with the partnership in the education, cultural, economic and other fields are the highlights of the relations between the two cities. Qatar-US bilateral relations too are built against this context.
For some days, Houston has been undergoing a difficult time in the wake of the catastrophic Hurricane Harvey. The resulting calamities have also reached Doha, in many ways.
I myself was pained to learn about the problems faced by the Texans as I had some wonderful experiences in Houston. The loss and pain felt by our brethren in Houston is also felt in Doha. Houston is recovering and based on the resilience of the people of the city I can safely say it will emerge a stronger place than before.
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