Days after Doha, one of Ankara’s closest allies in the Gulf region, pledged $15 billion in direct investment in Turkey, Qatar’s private sector has also turned to the country as five major conglomerates are looking to invest $300 million.
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Qatar looking to invest billions more in Germany – finance minister
„We see Germany as a key player in the world economy and are looking at the German market with great optimism,“ Qatar’s minister of finance, Ali Sharif al-Emadi, told Handelsblatt newspaper ahead of a Qatar Germany Business Investment Forum in Berlin on September 7.
Taliban hails ‚helpful‘ US talks as boost to Afghan peace process
On Sunday fighting continued for the third consecutive day between the Taliban and Afghan security forces in the eastern city of Ghazni.
The US previously said it would sit on the sidelines of an “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned” peace process. The Trump administration changed tack, however, in recognition of the Taliban’s refusal to enter negotiations with the Afghan government without first discussing the removal of foreign troops in the US.
The first round of basic contacts “were very helpful”, a senior member of the Taliban’s Quetta Shura told the Guardian. They requested anonymity as only the movement’s spokesperson is authorised to speak in public.
U.S. Diplomats Held Face-to-Face Talks With Taliban, Insurgents Say
A State Department spokeswoman did not respond to questions about whether the talks took place. But the department did not deny that its diplomats had taken part in such talks — a significant shift in American strategy toward the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Russia and Qatar discuss S-400 missile systems deal TASS
Russia and Qatar have been in discussions about a possible sale of S-400 missile systems to Doha, TASS news agency cited the Russian envoy to Qatar as saying on Saturday.
Meeting with Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
(15.7.2018) Taking part in the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Energy Minister and Co-Chairman of the Russian-Qatari Commission for Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation Alexander Novak, Russian Special Presidential Representative for Syrian Settlement Alexander Lavrentyev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of Rosoboronexport Alexander Mikheyev, and CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Rosneft Igor Sechin.
Oman says running out of patience with UAE violations
On Wednesday, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi unveiled a raft of economic deals, signing 20 memorandums of understanding for over 60 joint projects, including in the oil and gas, banking, nuclear energy, and defense.
The deals, approved at a meeting of the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, did not involve the four other Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members — Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
Blockade am Golf
Vor allem Bau- und Infrastrukturmaßnahmen für die Fußball-WM 2022 in Qatar versprechen seit Jahren riesige Aufträge auch für deutsche Unternehmen wie Hochtief, Siemens, Deutsche Bahn, Albert Speer und Partner oder die Dorsch-Gruppe, die den Zuschlag für die Bauaufsicht über ein 45-Milliarden-Euro-Projekt erhielt.[6] Kurz vor der WM-Vergabe hatten der damalige Vorstandschef von Hochtief, Herbert Lütkestratkötter, und Kanzlerin Angela Merkel gemeinsam mit der qatarischen Führung getagt. Wenige Monate nach dem WM-Zuschlag für das Emirat reiste der Hamburger Reeder Erck Rickmers in Begleitung von Franz Beckenbauer nach Doha. Zuvor hatte Rickmers laut Spiegel online 250.000 US-Dollar an die Franz-Beckenbauer-Stiftung gespendet. Der Sunday Times zufolge war die Reise vom damaligen qatarischen FIFA-Delegierten Mohamed bin Hammam organisiert worden. Es sei, teilt die von Rickmers geleitete E.R. Capital Holding mit, „um die mögliche Zusammenarbeit der E.R. Gruppe mit katarischen Investment-Fonds und einer Beteiligungsmöglichkeit im Schifffahrtsbereich“ gegangen.[7]
Rezension: Glenn Jäger: In den Sand gesetzt
Auch deutsche Politiker, darunter unter anderem Bundespräsident Christian Wulff, gaben sich in jener Zeit in Qatar fast die Klinke in die Hand. Qatar hatte – ganz unabhängig von der Fußball-WM – begonnen, Wirtschaft und Infrastruktur systematisch auszubauen, um perspetivisch seiner völlig einseitigen Abhängigkeit von Erdöl und Erdgas zu entkommen. Dazu diente, wie Jäger es schildert, unter anderem ein Großprogramm mit dem Titel „Qatar National Vision 2030“, das wiederum bei deutschen Unternehmen Interesse an teils milliardenschweren Aufträgen weckte. Konnte da nicht die Fußball-WM dem Emirat weitere Anreize und interessierten Firmen zusätzliche attraktive Aufträge bieten? Wie auch immer – die Pläne, mit denen Qatar sich erfolgreich um die WM-Vergabe bewarb, wurden in Frankfurt am Main entwickelt, vom Architektur- und Planungsbüro AS+P (Albert Speer und Partner), das wiederum neben deutschen Baukonzernen nach erfolgreicher Bewerbung von den nun anfallenden lukrativen Bauaufträgen profitierte. Die Frage, wer wem zu einer Fußball-WM verhilft, kann weitreichende Konsequenzen haben.
A Tale of Two Tortures
In the chaos that followed the overthrow of Gaddafi, Human Rights Watch staff made it to Libya and found a cache of documents left in the office of notorious intelligence chief, Musa Kusa, who had fled the country initially to the UK and then fled on to Qatar.
Google, Amazon assist in blocking encrypted communications
On May 1, the developers of the Signal encrypted messaging application revealed that over the previous month, Google and Amazon took steps to stop Signal from continuing to bypass censorship measures in place in Egypt, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Workers, youth, journalists, lawyers and human rights advocates will no longer be able to use the application to send encrypted messages and evade government surveillance.
Pompeo, in Saudi Arabia, talks tough on Iran, Gulf dispute
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is using the Middle East leg of his first trip abroad as America’s top diplomat to call for concerted international action to punish Iran for its missile programs. He’s also urging Saudi Arabia and its neighbors to resolve a long-festering dispute with Qatar that U.S. officials say Iran is exploiting to boost its influence in the region, including in Yemen and Syria.
Iraq and Qatar agree on new maritime line
Umm Qasr port is in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
Bolton dealing to build an Arab military force in Syria
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, said Tuesday that Saudi Arabia is engaged in talks with the US and would consider sending forces to Syria along with other Arab countries as part of this contingent.
Jubeir also noted that the idea is not necessarily new, as Saudi Arabia made a similar proposal to the Obama administration, but that the US did not take them up on the offer.
Diplomacy, and not bombing, is the way to end Syria’s agony
Already this devastating conflict has cost more than 500,000 lives and led to 5 million refugees being forced to flee Syria, and 6 million internally displaced. We must put negotiations for a political settlement centre stage, and not slip into a new cycle of military reaction and counter-reaction.
Protracted external military intervention in Syria – from funding and arms supplies to bombing and boots on the ground – has not helped in the slightest. Syria has become the theatre for military action by regional and international powers – the United States, Britain, Russia, France, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates among them.
Remarks by President Trump and Amir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani of the State of Qatar Before Bilateral Meeting
AMIR AL THANI: I’m very happy and honored to be here, and thanks for this invitation. Our relationship between Qatar and the United States has been more than 45 years. It’s a very strong, solid relationship. Our economic partnership is more than $125 billion, and our aim and goal is to double it in the next coming years.
Our military cooperation is very solid, very strong. As everybody know, that the heart of fighting terrorism is from Al Udeid Base. And, thank God, it’s been a very successful campaign against the terrorist groups around our region.
Lately, before I come here, I was in Tampa. I visited the CENTCOM, and we met with the generals. And it was a very important visit, and it shows how strong our cooperation is between the armed forces.
Of course, we speak today and we see the suffering of the Syrian people. And me and the President, we see eye to eye that this matter has to stop immediately. We cannot tolerate — with a war criminal, we cannot tolerate with someone who killed more than half a million of his own people. And this matter should end immediately.
Thank you very much, Mr. President.
Trump Weighs More Robust Military Strike Against Syria
American officials expressed confidence that they would have the backing of France, which has been vocal about the need for a strong response, as well as Britain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, all of which called for Syria to be held accountable for the suspected chemical attack. It remained unclear, however, whether any of the allies would participate.
Saudi crown prince sees a new axis of ‘evil’ in the Middle East
(8.3.2018) In remarks reportedly made this week in a meeting with Egyptian newspaper editors, he pointed to a “triangle of evil” in the Middle East made up of Iran — Riyadh’s perennial foe — Islamist extremist groups and Turkey. His rhetoric seemed to echo the notorious „axis of evil“ bluster of the George W. Bush administration.
The inclusion of Turkey raised eyebrows and sparked an angry backlash on Turkish social media.
Sudan: Tapping Sudan’s Strategic Location
The signing of a $4 billion partnership deal with Qatar last week to build and manage the Red Sea port of Suakin puts the country’s strategic location under spot and could be considered the first serious attempt to tap this resource that has been neglected for quite long time.
The Sudanese-Qatari joint venture that will take three years to materialize is envisioning spending $500 million in the first phase and then expand eventually so as to enable the new port handle the expected surge in volume of trade.
Putin notes upward trend in bilateral trade with Qatar
Russian President Vladimir Putin noted progress in Russian-Qatari relations as well as positive prospects for mutual trade at a meeting with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Monday