His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s upcoming visit to the US will be a ‘big one’ with several deals likely to be inked, said William Grant, Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires of the US in Qatar.

The White House officially announced the visit earlier in June, stating that the visit will consolidate economic and security ties between the United States and Qatar. 

Yesterday at a press conference, Grant reiterated the significance of the visit stating that HH the Amir’s meetings with US President Donald Trump and other top officials of the US government will see further cooperation between the two nations over some key areas.

“The visit will build on the longstanding relationship between the United States and Qatar and further strengthen the already substantial economic and security ties,” the US official said.

“The two leaders are expected to discuss regional developments, bilateral security cooperation, and counter-terrorism issues,” he added.

Highlighting the strong ties between the two countries, Grant said, “Qatar has been a great friend and ally to the US in many ways and great things will be happening in the relationship. During the meetings, the two sides will discuss US-Qatar relations as well as broader threats to the region.”

The overall trade volume between Qatar and the US stood at $6 billion in 2018.

More than 120 American companies operate in Qatar, coupled with many US entities involved in major projects pertaining to roads, rail, seaport, airport, and stadiums across Qatar.

Grant further said that the two countries also share a diverse and growing military relationship “based on shared goals: combat terrorism, promote regional security and stability, and combat criminal threats in the Gulf.”

The US and Qatar also work together to combat transnational threats including human trafficking, money laundering, and combating terrorism financing, Grant said.

The US official drew attention to the recently-announced partnership between Qatar Petroleum and Chevron Phillips Chemical as an example of the growing relationship between the two countries. 

He further underlined the strengthening of ties between the people of both countries stating that thousands of students from Qatar have been pursuing higher education at more than 3,000 colleges and universities in the US.

“We have the branch campuses of six top US universities in Qatar. We have lots of people from Qatar traveling to the US and several tourists from the US have started visiting Qatar in recent years. A large number of Americans are expected to visit Qatar during FIFA World Cup in 2022,” he said.

Regarding the Gulf Crisis, Grant said, “The US Secretary of State had said when he visited Qatar last January that the Gulf Crisis has lasted far too long and it should be resolved sooner. We have no immediate meeting scheduled with the GCC heads but it can be held at the appropriate time.”

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Source: Gulf Times

_{Cover Image Credit: Embassy of Qatar in Washington}