Qatar has an important role to play in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) as an ally of the intergovernmental military alliance.

According to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller, Qatar is quite important to the future of the alliance.

The Turkish Foreign Minister said Qatar was an important political and military ally and a balanced party in the equation of the international forces in confronting extremism, terrorism and tensions in the world, reported Gulf Times.

He said Doha’s participation in the summit reflected the appreciation of the alliance’s member-states for the role played by Qatar in countering terrorism on more than one front.

Cavusoglu said Qatar’s contribution to the alliance in the form of forces and equipment in Afghanistan, the most important battlefront against terrorism in the world, is an important topic on the agenda of the current summit.

He said Qatar is an important country in the Gulf region both politically and geographically. It hosts one of the largest military bases in the world, exchanges experiences with great armies and joins them in military exercises.

Cavusoglu said the current Nato summit is an important occasion to highlight the role played by Qatar in the past years in combating terrorism and to celebrate this role in front of the world and the member-states. 

For her part, the Deputy Secretary General of Nato said Qatar is an ally and an active player in the alliance.

“Qatar has an important part in the alliance’s future which faces great challenges at the current time, especially with the growing phenomenon of terrorism around the world,” she said.

Gottemoeller referred to Qatar’s participation for the first time in the 29th NATO Summit, which is attended by 29 member-states and 20 partner countries, as well as representatives from the United Nations, European Union, World Bank and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.