close
close

Qatar, US to enhance security cooperation under new agreements – Doha News

Qatar’s interior minister was in Washington on June 25, where he met with the FBI director and other top officials.

Qatar and the United States are strengthening their security cooperation through new agreements as the two countries continue to expand their strategic relations.

Qatar’s Ministry of Interior (MOI) announced the agreements on Sunday. They were signed by Qatar’s Minister of Interior and Commander of the Internal Security Forces (Lekhwiya), Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

“During the meeting, agreements were signed to enhance security cooperation between Qatar and the United States,” the MOI statement said. “A number of issues of mutual interest were also discussed and the cooperative relations between the two friendly countries in the field of security,” the statement said.

According to the Ministry of Interior, the signing took place during “a recent visit” by Sheikh Khalifa.

Qatar’s interior minister was in Washington on June 25, where he met with the FBI director and other top officials, including US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

During the meeting, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in hosting major sporting events during the 2026 World Cup, which will be shared between the US, Canada and Mexico.

Doha and Washington are set to exchange expertise after the former’s success in hosting the 2022 World Cup, described by many as the best edition of the tournament.

During the major sporting event, a number of Qatar’s international partners helped to host the event, including the US, Turkey, France, the United Kingdom and Italy.

Building on their previous experience, Qatar’s Lekhwiya are currently contributing to the security organisation of this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. Qatari troops landed in Paris on 12 July.

Qatar-US relations

Relations between Doha and Washington have seen numerous milestones, including in 2018 with the launch of the annual US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue.

The meetings often result in agreements that boost bilateral relations between the two countries. The sixth annual meeting was held in Washington, DC in March.

The Gulf state is home to Al-Udeid Airbase, the largest U.S. military post in the Middle East. In January, the U.S. agreed to extend its military presence at the base in Qatar for another 10 years.

In 2022, US President Joe Biden designated Qatar as a Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) during a meeting with Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Washington, DC

The designation offers Washington’s foreign partners several advantages in defense trade and security cooperation. Qatar became the third Gulf country to be added to the list of 18 current MNNAs, which also includes Bahrain and Kuwait.

Biden, who withdrew from the upcoming US election on Sunday, noted that the designation is a recognition of Qatar’s role as a trusted ally given the country’s major efforts in 2021 in light of the Taliban takeover of Kabul.

Qatar and the US worked together at the time on the mass evacuation of more than 80,000 Afghans and foreigners, making it the largest airlift in history.

In addition to Afghanistan, Qatar has made a number of crucial diplomatic efforts on issues of concern to the US.

In September 2023, Qatar’s mediation led to a landmark prisoner deal between Washington and Tehran, the culmination of two years of diplomatic effort.

Last December, Qatar’s mediation resulted in a prisoner swap of 11 prisoners between the U.S. and Venezuela, marking the largest release of U.S. prisoners in Venezuela’s history, the Associated Press reported.

Currently, Qatar is playing a central role in efforts to secure a ceasefire and prisoner release deal between Israel and Hamas. The Gulf state has hosted Hamas’s political office since 2012 at Washington’s request to maintain an open channel of communication.

Related Posts