CHAIRMAN: DR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: DR. KHALID MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

Qatar

Gulf crisis was a bid to change rule in Qatar, says FM

Published: 24 Mar 2018 - 08:12 am | Last Updated: 02 Nov 2021 - 02:13 am
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani speaking at the International Diplomatic Academy in Paris.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani speaking at the International Diplomatic Academy in Paris.

The Peninsula

PARIS: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said that the State of Qatar is building its diplomacy on the basis of its principles, and believes that the region needs a coherent security strategy that enables people to coexist and live in peace.

In a speech at a meeting on “Qatar’s perspective on regional issues” organised by the International Diplomatic Academy in Paris, the Deputy Prime Minister said that what happened in the Gulf crisis was an attack and an aggression and an attempt to change the rule in Qatar.

“This is not new. The same attempt occurred in 2014, and in 1996, this aggression started against Qatar, when it started to adapt to change, implementing a different strategy and a different vision.”

“These countries do not accept differences of opinion, and do not accept a country that has a different approach,” H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said, adding: “We refuse to give up our sovereignty”.

The Deputy Prime Minister also pointed out that “no concerns had been mentioned before the siege imposed on Qatar” and that the countries of the blockade have created the crisis at a time when the region faces many challenges.

“We are building our diplomacy on the basis of our principles, and we believe that our region needs a coherent security strategy that enables people to coexist and live in peace,” he said. “The basic pillar of our principle is that people are not subject to any political deal. “When the issue is between the government and the people, we stand with the people”, H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani added.

He said that when we started this policy we focused on different dimensions, “the first step was to liberalise our media. We were the first country in the region to close the Ministry of Communication and Information. We started legislating free media, guaranteeing freedom of expression under the law, focusing on human capital and means of developing it,” he said.

“We have invited different universities in different countries, including France, the United States and the United Kingdom, and we have given them freedom of expression. Investing in the human element has been one of our main priorities,” said H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

He noted that Qatar produced 650,000 barrels of oil in 1995 and that “oil prices put the state of Qatar in a difficult financial situation, but HH the Emir decided to invest in gas at a time when no one believed in the power of gas.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that Qatar was now one of the largest exporters of natural gas. “We have developed technology for this industry and that put us together with the world’s leading LNG players in terms of production and shipping,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said.

He added: “We have worked on diversification as part of our economic vision, where the surplus of our budget and revenues were invested in different sectors and in different countries, and then the Qatar sovereign fund was established”.