Qatar plays an important role in the global energy field as it is a credible supplier who has met all its commitments during the past decades in providing gas to a large number of countries, from Argentina to Japan.
In an interview to French magazine Le Point His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said Qatar took risks and invested heavily in the gas sector since the eighties of the last century, believing that it is an energy source that will acquire great importance in the future.
"We repeated the same thing a few years ago by increasing our production of liquefied natural gas (LNG), although the global trend at the time was inclined towards getting rid of these sources and focusing on green energy, such as solar and wind.
"But I assure you that gas is also a source of clean energy, and it is very important for the upcoming transitional period."
His Highness the Amir said the war in Europe has complicated matters in an unprecedented way, but the problem was already there. "As for the State of Qatar, we mainly export energy to the Asian countries and to the European countries as well, based on long-term contracts, in addition to the current ones. We want to help the European countries and will supply them with gas in the coming years, but those who think that we can replace Russian gas are mistaken, because it is an important source for the world market."
His Highness the Amir said Qatar has invested huge amounts of money in technologies that contribute to carbon capture and green technologies that fight pollution.
The Amir said resources are not eternal, but the important thing is "to invest in ourselves - in the human capital".
"Education is the answer, for both rich and poor countries. We are developing our schools and universities, and we have also invited American and European universities and colleges to open branches here.
"We began to diversify our economy by focusing on nine main pillars, including technology, health, science, tourism, and others. We trust in our strong economy, but are prepared for all scenarios in the future."
Answering a question on the situation in the region, His Highness the Amir said: "Our unity and cooperation are important to the whole world, and the Gulf Cooperation Council is going through a stage of recovery after a great shock and turmoil, but today we are on the right track."
Asked about the important role that Qatar plays on the global arena, His Highness the Amir said bringing together parties with different opinions is part of Qatar's policy. "With regard to the Taliban, we played the role of mediator in response to the request of our American friends. The negotiations continued for years, and witnessed many ups and downs. There is no doubt that what happened last year was unexpected.
"But in general, we have cooperated closely with the United States of America and a number of European countries, including France."
Regarding the Iranian issue, the Amir said Qatar has not received an official request to mediate, "but we are in constant contact with our American allies and with the Iranians alike, because Iran is a neighbouring country".
On Qatar's role as a leading mediator, His Highness the Amir said : "It is our duty and in our interest to do everything in our power to bring the parties together and encourage them to reach a peaceful settlement. We do not set limits before ourselves when choosing the parties to the dialogue, provided they believe in peaceful coexistence, but we are not ready to engage in dialogue with those who oppose that, and we are not, of course, ready to engage in dialogue with terrorists and violent groups."
On issues of global concern, the Amir said everyone must work together to solve such matters. "Even if the State of Qatar or France possessed the appropriate medicines and health system to provide treatment to their people, we will not be able to overcome the pandemic until all countries of the world overcome it. We do not want to return to closing of restaurants, airports and train stations. Since we are all interconnected , we must work together and solve our problems together."
In the energy sector, the Amir said high prices "do not make us happy because they are unfair to consumers, and any huge fall in prices does not suit us because it is unfair to the producers".
Asked about the role and place of women in society, His Highness the Amir said: "Firstly, in the eyes of God, we are all equal, men and women. The role of women is vital in our society. In Qatar, women outperform men at university. They make up 63% of students. In the workforce, it's about 50/50. Within our government, we have three women ministers, they are doing a great job. We even have women pilots in our air force. We don't see any difference with men. Of course, we are aware that they are discriminated against in the world, but we are totally against it."
To a question on freedom of expression, whether it is an essential value that must be protected, or sometimes limited, His Highness the Amir said: "I personally believe in freedom of expression. It should be protected. But if that expression intentionally leads to problems or conflicts in the cultural or religious field, is it really necessary to express it? I am not talking about someone criticising a minister or a senior official, I have no problem with that. But in areas where we know it will create problems, we must be very careful. Everyone has the right to express themselves, but whatever we say, we must avoid hurting people from different cultures, religions or backgrounds. In general, things should have limits. When you say that, sometimes people say you are against freedom of expression, but talking about limits is not the same. Of course, the subject has become very complex with social media."
On Qatar-France relations, the Amir said the relationship that unites the two countries is greater than one sector, such as the energy sector, but TotalEnergy is a very important company. "We took a risk when we invested in LNG with ExxonMobil and Total, but the two companies helped us develop this sector, and we will maintain the partnership in the coming decades, including in projects outside Qatar.
"We deal with companies and sign contracts with complete transparency, but we also take into account the previous relationships and the risks that companies faced with us and the support they provided to us, and we never forget the people, companies and countries that stood by us in difficult times and took risks with us. There are great countries that forget, but we do not forget."
Asked what would the Amir like the fans coming to Qatar for the World Cup in November to learn about his country, His Highness the Amir said: "We are the first Arab country to organise such a global event. It is very important for the youth, especially in the Arab world. Hundreds of thousands of people will come. Everyone, no matter who they are, no matter what their origin or culture, is welcome. We want these visitors to learn about the differences between cultures, to discover the culture of Qatar, and we hope they will want to come back.
- We used state-of-the-art technology to reduce water and energy consumption during the World Cup in order to make the tournament more sustainable."
For peace in the region, His Highness the Amir said the most important issue is the Palestinian issue, because peace will not be achieved if a solution is not reached, not to mention Syria, Libya and Yemen... "This is what worries me about the youth of the region."
Asked about the criticism directed at Qatar, His Highness the Amir said:
"There are two kinds of criticism. Most of the time, we see it as advice, or an alert, and we take it seriously. For example, we realised that we had a problem with work on construction sites, and we took strong measures in record time. We changed the law and punish anyone who mistreats an employee; we've opened our doors to NGOs, and we cooperate with them. We are proud of that. And then there is the second category of criticism, the one that continues no matter what we do. These are people who do not accept that an Arab Muslim country like Qatar is hosting the World Cup. They will find any excuse to denigrate us."
"We repeated the same thing a few years ago by increasing our production of liquefied natural gas (LNG), although the global trend at the time was inclined towards getting rid of these sources and focusing on green energy, such as solar and wind.
"But I assure you that gas is also a source of clean energy, and it is very important for the upcoming transitional period."
His Highness the Amir said the war in Europe has complicated matters in an unprecedented way, but the problem was already there. "As for the State of Qatar, we mainly export energy to the Asian countries and to the European countries as well, based on long-term contracts, in addition to the current ones. We want to help the European countries and will supply them with gas in the coming years, but those who think that we can replace Russian gas are mistaken, because it is an important source for the world market."
His Highness the Amir said Qatar has invested huge amounts of money in technologies that contribute to carbon capture and green technologies that fight pollution.
The Amir said resources are not eternal, but the important thing is "to invest in ourselves - in the human capital".
"Education is the answer, for both rich and poor countries. We are developing our schools and universities, and we have also invited American and European universities and colleges to open branches here.
"We began to diversify our economy by focusing on nine main pillars, including technology, health, science, tourism, and others. We trust in our strong economy, but are prepared for all scenarios in the future."
Answering a question on the situation in the region, His Highness the Amir said: "Our unity and cooperation are important to the whole world, and the Gulf Cooperation Council is going through a stage of recovery after a great shock and turmoil, but today we are on the right track."
Asked about the important role that Qatar plays on the global arena, His Highness the Amir said bringing together parties with different opinions is part of Qatar's policy. "With regard to the Taliban, we played the role of mediator in response to the request of our American friends. The negotiations continued for years, and witnessed many ups and downs. There is no doubt that what happened last year was unexpected.
"But in general, we have cooperated closely with the United States of America and a number of European countries, including France."
Regarding the Iranian issue, the Amir said Qatar has not received an official request to mediate, "but we are in constant contact with our American allies and with the Iranians alike, because Iran is a neighbouring country".
On Qatar's role as a leading mediator, His Highness the Amir said : "It is our duty and in our interest to do everything in our power to bring the parties together and encourage them to reach a peaceful settlement. We do not set limits before ourselves when choosing the parties to the dialogue, provided they believe in peaceful coexistence, but we are not ready to engage in dialogue with those who oppose that, and we are not, of course, ready to engage in dialogue with terrorists and violent groups."
On issues of global concern, the Amir said everyone must work together to solve such matters. "Even if the State of Qatar or France possessed the appropriate medicines and health system to provide treatment to their people, we will not be able to overcome the pandemic until all countries of the world overcome it. We do not want to return to closing of restaurants, airports and train stations. Since we are all interconnected , we must work together and solve our problems together."
In the energy sector, the Amir said high prices "do not make us happy because they are unfair to consumers, and any huge fall in prices does not suit us because it is unfair to the producers".
Asked about the role and place of women in society, His Highness the Amir said: "Firstly, in the eyes of God, we are all equal, men and women. The role of women is vital in our society. In Qatar, women outperform men at university. They make up 63% of students. In the workforce, it's about 50/50. Within our government, we have three women ministers, they are doing a great job. We even have women pilots in our air force. We don't see any difference with men. Of course, we are aware that they are discriminated against in the world, but we are totally against it."
To a question on freedom of expression, whether it is an essential value that must be protected, or sometimes limited, His Highness the Amir said: "I personally believe in freedom of expression. It should be protected. But if that expression intentionally leads to problems or conflicts in the cultural or religious field, is it really necessary to express it? I am not talking about someone criticising a minister or a senior official, I have no problem with that. But in areas where we know it will create problems, we must be very careful. Everyone has the right to express themselves, but whatever we say, we must avoid hurting people from different cultures, religions or backgrounds. In general, things should have limits. When you say that, sometimes people say you are against freedom of expression, but talking about limits is not the same. Of course, the subject has become very complex with social media."
On Qatar-France relations, the Amir said the relationship that unites the two countries is greater than one sector, such as the energy sector, but TotalEnergy is a very important company. "We took a risk when we invested in LNG with ExxonMobil and Total, but the two companies helped us develop this sector, and we will maintain the partnership in the coming decades, including in projects outside Qatar.
"We deal with companies and sign contracts with complete transparency, but we also take into account the previous relationships and the risks that companies faced with us and the support they provided to us, and we never forget the people, companies and countries that stood by us in difficult times and took risks with us. There are great countries that forget, but we do not forget."
Asked what would the Amir like the fans coming to Qatar for the World Cup in November to learn about his country, His Highness the Amir said: "We are the first Arab country to organise such a global event. It is very important for the youth, especially in the Arab world. Hundreds of thousands of people will come. Everyone, no matter who they are, no matter what their origin or culture, is welcome. We want these visitors to learn about the differences between cultures, to discover the culture of Qatar, and we hope they will want to come back.
- We used state-of-the-art technology to reduce water and energy consumption during the World Cup in order to make the tournament more sustainable."
For peace in the region, His Highness the Amir said the most important issue is the Palestinian issue, because peace will not be achieved if a solution is not reached, not to mention Syria, Libya and Yemen... "This is what worries me about the youth of the region."
Asked about the criticism directed at Qatar, His Highness the Amir said:
"There are two kinds of criticism. Most of the time, we see it as advice, or an alert, and we take it seriously. For example, we realised that we had a problem with work on construction sites, and we took strong measures in record time. We changed the law and punish anyone who mistreats an employee; we've opened our doors to NGOs, and we cooperate with them. We are proud of that. And then there is the second category of criticism, the one that continues no matter what we do. These are people who do not accept that an Arab Muslim country like Qatar is hosting the World Cup. They will find any excuse to denigrate us."
