Qatar's Ambassador to the United States of America Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al-Thani underlined that the visit of the Emir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to the United States will promote the political coordination between the two friendly countries, strengthen the bilateral relations at the security and economic levels, and increase cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism.

In statements to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the Ambassador said that Emir and US President Donald Trump will discuss Qatar's announcement during the Qatari-US Strategic Dialogue, held in Washington recently, on the expanding of Al Udeid Air Base which is already the largest US military base in the Middle East.

In addition, he said that the Emir and the US President will discuss the broad economic partnership and ways of promoting it, as well as the conflict in Syria, the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and the reconstruction of Iraq, noting that these issues are very important for Qatar and that the US administration takes these issues seriously.

On the Gulf Crisis, the Ambassador expressed regret over the illegal siege imposed on Qatar since nearly a year, and said: "Despite the sincere mediation efforts of Kuwait and other friendly countries such as the US, and while we are keenness on reaching a solution for the current conflict as soon as possible, the irony is that the siege helped Qatar accelerate the establishment of new partnerships".

Sheikh Meshal added that the US has been trying to mediate in the crisis, and Qatar welcomed and supported these efforts since the beginning of the crisis, reiterating Qatar's commitment to resolve the crisis with neighbours through dialogue to lift the illegal siege. He once again welcomed all efforts by the United States to reach a quick solution for the crisis.

The Qatari Ambassador underlined that the allegations that Qatar supports terrorism are false and baseless, stressing that Qatar rejected these allegations consistently and succeeded to refute them since they lack evidence.

The Ambassador affirmed that the memorandum of understanding signed between Qatar and the United States on combating the financing of terrorism, which goes further than any other GCC country in the field of combating the flow of terrorist financing, is yet another example of the absurdity of the claim that Qatar supports terrorism.

On the upcoming Gulf-US summit in Camp David in May, Sheikh Meshal told QNA that the recent reports indicated that the summit may be delayed until next September. He affirmed Qatar's openness to the summit which will be hosted by the US President Donald Trump, as well as its openness to negotiations since the beginning of the crisis, noting that Qatar is ready for dialogue once the siege is lifted.

Speaking about the strong military relations between Qatar and the United States, the Ambassador said that Qatar plays a key role in global counterterrorism activities by hosting the headquarters of the US Central Command in Al Udeid Air Base. He said that the base is a major operational center for the US forces and has been the launching point for thousands of missions against terrorists in the region.

As for the demands to move Al Udeid Air Base from Qatar, he said that Qatar has stood by the United States in times of adversity and prosperity in contrast to those who call for transferring the base and sacrificed that partnership at a time when the United States was expecting all the support, and the US will not forget that.

He affirmed that Al Udeid Air Base will remain in Qatar because of the strong and lasting partnership with the US, and Qatar's commitment to fighting terrorism, noting: "Instead of moving the base, we are actually expanding it to accommodate the US forces".

On the level of economic relations between Qatar and the US, the Ambassador told QNA that the economic partnership between the two countries is very strong, noting that the Qatari investments in the US labor market are currently providing about one million jobs, while there are more than 120 American companies operating in Qatar. He added that Qatar is planning to invest $35 billion in the US economy till 2020, in addition to $10 billion allocated for the US infrastructure.

He expressed the hope that the economic relations between the two countries will continue to grow in the coming years and expand in other sectors including medicine, technology and infrastructure.

Speaking about current conflicts and unrest in the Middle East, Sheikh Meshal said that the US role will continue to be very important in achieving stability and resolving conflicts in the Middle East. He added that there are certainly a number of international players with great interests in the Middle East, but the United States remains the strongest and most influential in the region.

In response to a question about the recent changes in some official positions in the US administration, he said that Qatar has a strong relation with the US President Trump and his administration, and it is fully confident that the United States will chart a wise and smart course with regard to the Middle East policy, stressing that Qatar will communicate with the United States on all important political issues in the region, and looks forward to establishing close relations with the new officials.

Sheikh Meshal underlined that Qatar has a strong and multifaceted relationship with all leading institutions in the United States.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Cover image credit: The Peninsula