The US wants to see the Gulf crisis resolved, the US embassy in Doha's chief of mission and chargé d’affaires William Grant told a seminar organised by the Community College of Qatar (CCQ).
Replying to questions regarding the Gulf crisis, Grant said, “The US wants to see this dispute resolved. In 2017, we made some efforts to try to get the parties to talk to each other. Obviously, that did not succeed. Our Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo’s message, when he came to Doha on January 13, was that the US has not disengaged from the region. And our message to all the countries involved, is that we want you to figure out what the problem is, and get back to a situation where there’s greater co-operation again.”
CCQ in collaboration with the US embassy in Qatar, had organised the special seminar titled ‘The Historical Relations Between the US and Qatar: Past, Present, and Future’.
The event was held at the College’s Lusail Campus, in the presence of CCQ president Dr Mohamed al-Naemi, vice-president Dr Khalid Shams al-Abdulqader, and dean Dr Abdallah Hazaimeh, along with students, faculty and staff.
At the outset of the seminar, Grant explained the US' approach to its foreign relations and its role in the Middle East. “We take the approach that you don’t have to agree with us or our policies and positions. But we want to have the opportunity to explain our positions and not have you hear them from someone else that is maybe getting it wrong.” he elaborated.
He then went on to talk about the long-standing relations between the US and Qatar, as well as the current state of affairs between the two countries, which he described as ‘very, very good’ and one that ‘gets a level of engagement that not every country in the world enjoys.’
“We’ve had diplomatic relations with Qatar since the founding of the state in the 1970s and long-standing historical connections. Today, our strong and positive relationship certainly extends beyond military co-operation, and we have a regular senior-level discussion, so that we sync up on a range of issues,” he pointed out.
The US charge d'affaires cited the 2nd Qatar-US Strategic Dialogue meeting, recently held in Doha, as an example of the broad-based co-operation and high level of engagement between the two nations. “Various agencies of the two governments came together and set the agenda for cooperation on a range of issues for the next 12 months. We signed some agreements and held meetings between our officials responsible for labour matters, culture, and even space. Other areas we’re also involved with are law enforcement, trade and investment, and security for the World Cup in 2022,” Grant added.
