Foreign relations of Qatar
Qatar achieved full independence from the United Kingdom on 3 September 1971. Arab states were among the first to recognize Qatar, and the country gained admittance to the United Nations and the Arab League in the same year. Qatar established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, and Communist China in 1988. The country was an early member of OPEC and a founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Qatar is a strategic ally of China, with relationship between the two countries growing stronger.
Over the past two decades, Qatar has grown its international profile and punched above its weight in international affairs. It has been "very confident of itself and believes that it has the capabilities and capacity to adopt an independent foreign policy." The country is a member of numerous international organizations and maintains bilateral relations around the globe because, as Islam Hassan Research Analyst at Center for International and Regional Studies- Georgetown University in Qatar argues, the monarchy believes that a way of regime survival here is to have recognition on the regional and international level."
Qatar also uses its massive wealth to purchase influence abroad; its state-funded news media company Al Jazeera serves as a means of exerting international soft power. Qatar buys influence in Western countries through investments and donations. For example, the country has made large donations to the prominent Washington-based think tank the Brookings Institution, purchased British retailer Harrods, and donated $1 million to the Clinton Foundation while Hillary Clinton was U.S. Secretary of State.
Multilateral relations
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the emir of Qatar from 1995 to 2013, helped establish Qatar's reputation as an influential player in Middle East politics. The first major move in this regard was the founding of Al Jazeera, a state-owned news media company.Qatar has also cultivated close relationships with Western powers, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom. Al Udeid Air Base hosts American and British air forces. Qatar has invested extensively in London real estate, and the country has also made donations to prominent research centers in the United States. At the same time, Qatar maintains ties to Western adversaries, including Iran, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and extremist elements in Syria.
Qatar has a population of around 1.8 million people, however only 280,000 of these are citizens. The vast majority of the population are migrant laborers who suffer severe human rights abuses including unfit living conditions, abuse by employers, and seizure of passports and other immigration documents. These human rights abuses have caused tensions between Qatar and liberal western democracies. It is also one of the few countries in which citizens do not have to pay any taxes.
Qatar is a member of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Gulf Cooperation Council, OPEC and the Council of Arab Economic Unity.
Regional relations
According to American sociologist and historical social scientist Immanuel Wallerstein, Qatar is seeking to become a major regional player in Middle East politics. Wallerstein has argued that Qatar aimed to do the same in the Syrian Civil War, and has provided support to extremist elements in Syria. According to Wallerstein, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are competing for influence in regional politics.Qatar has been influential in political and religious upheavals in the Middle East. Qatar supported several rebel groups during the Arab Spring financially and by asserting global influence through its expanding news group, Al Jazeera.
Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood and allied groups throughout the Middle East, as well as positions taken by Al Jazeera have led to increasing tensions with other Gulf States. On 5 March 2014, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar in protest at what they claimed was Qatar's non-compliance with a November 2013 agreement not to "interfere" in countries' internal affairs.
Some financial economists have interpreted the 2014 Saudi-Qatari rift as the tangible political sign of a growing economic rivalry between oil and natural gas producers, which could “have deep and long-lasting consequences” beyond the Middle East.
In March 2014 Qatar made overtures to Oman in order to counteract the influence of Saudi Arabia on politics in the region.
In May 2017, an alleged hack of state media led to stories quoting the Emir as enquiring US resentment towards Iran and remarking on Hamas. Doha reported it as false and gave no indication on where it originated. However, news organizations in the region reported the emir's comments as fact. This led to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar on 5 June 2017.
Qatar voiced support for the Turkish invasion of northern Syria aimed at ousting U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds from the enclave of Afrin. Spokeswoman of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lulwah Rashif Al-Khater said that: "The launching of the Turkish military operation last Saturday was motivated by legitimate concerns related to its national security and the security of its borders, in addition to protecting Syria's territorial integrity from the danger of secession. Turkey, a NATO member, has always been a stabilizing factor in the region."
Peace brokering and peacekeeping activities
The onset of the Arab spring in January 2011 complicated Qatar's ability to mediate having forced Gulf leaders to side with revolutionaries or the longstanding autocratic regimes. Sheikh Hamad stated in that Qatar would support the uprisings, a position that clashed with neighboring Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar provided extensive support, in funding and weapons, to Libyan revolutionaries and aided in the removal of Muammar Gaddafi by mobilising Arab support behind NATO airstrikes. In Egypt, Qatar supported President Mohamed Morsi and has suffered from strained relations with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi following Morsi's removal. In Syria, Qatar has provided arms and funding to various opposition groups.Starting in 2013 Qatar was accused of financing Islamic extremists in Syria, a charge which has been refuted by Emir Sheikh Tamim on CNN and by Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Attiyah in an opinion piece in the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. According to the Royal United Services Institute, Qatar plays an important role in Syria and Iraq as an interlocutor between Western powers and resistant groups that cannot be engaged directly. This role is consistent with Qatar's efforts as an interlocutor with the Taliban in Afghanistan, hosting a small Embassy in Doha where US officials are able to meet with the Taliban behind closed doors.
Prior to the abdication of Emir Sheikh Hamad, Qatar's mediation was fronted by the Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmad Abdullah Al Mahmud. On 4 May 2009, the Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmad Abdullah Al Mahmud announced that Chad and Sudan had agreed to end hostilities against each other and to normalize relations during Qatari-mediated talks in Doha; however the agreement quickly broke down. Qatar also brokered an agreement between the Sudanese government and the strongest Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, in Doha in February 2010. The agreement fell apart in May 2010 and the conflict is ongoing.
with the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, May 2017
Qatar hosted a donors conference to help rebuild war-ravaged Darfur in April 2013.
In June 2010, Qatari peacekeeping forces deployed in the disputed Ras Doumeira area on the border between Djibouti and Eritrea after the latter withdrew from the area. The intention was to help start bilateral negotiations and solve the territorial dispute which had turned violent. Qatar withdrew its 450 troops from the Djibouti-Eritrea border in June 2017 after the two countries severed ties with Qatar.
Cultural and religious activities
In a controversial bidding process marred by bribery and corruption scandals, Qatar was selected to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Qatar will be the first Middle Eastern country to host the popular international sporting event. Qatar-funded Qatar Airways has gone on an aggressive expansion campaign by competing with nearby Emirates Airline to reach more destinations and serve more passengers.The sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly was presided over by former permanent representative of Qatar to the UN Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser. The country has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction.
In September 2013, Qatar funded 70% of a US$16 million mosque to be built in Slovenia. It is due for completion in 2016. Due to its natural resource revenue and low indigenous population, Qatar has been able to take bold moves in expanding its global presence, particularly its regional role following the Arab Spring funding the oppositions in the Libyan Civil War and the Syrian civil war, as well as the Islamist government of Egypt.
Foreign aid
’s international aid program has expanded dramatically since the beginning of 2010, and focuses heavily on the Arab world, most notably in the humanitarian crises in Syria and Gaza.According to the UN OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service, Qatar’s international aid increased from less than $10 million annually in the pre-Arab Spring period to the hundreds of millions following the event.
For example in 2012, according to the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country donated more than QAR3 billion through governmental and non-governmental aid to nearly 100 countries across the globe.
Qatari leadership has since pledged publicly to reduce suffering of victims and to achieve and support global partnerships for the achievement of foreign countries’ Millennium Development Goals. The state is engaged in investments in a wide range of humanitarian and developmental sectors.
Bilateral relations
Africa
Americas
Asia
| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
During the waning years of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2010 the United States and the Taliban initiated exploratory talks in regards to ending the conflict in Afghanistan after the latter announced its intention to open an office in Doha. Though they were halted later amid Taliban accusations of malfeasance by the United States, president Hamid Karzai claimed the two parties held daily talks in Qatar, although the U.S.and the Taliban denied it. In December 2011, Afghanistan recalled their envoy from Qatar in protest of the newly opened Taliban office. An Afghan government official later claimed that Qatar had not consulted with them prior to the inauguration of the office. | ||
| 5 November 1997 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 5 November 1997. Approximately 5,500 Armenians live in Qatar, mostly in the capital Doha. | |
| 14 September 1994 | Azerbaijan and Qatar signed an agreement to start diplomatic relations on 14 September 1994.
| |
| Dipolmatic ties ended on 5 June 2017 | See Bahrain-Qatar relationsBoth had a dispute over ownership of the Hawar Islands and the maritime boundary which was solved by the International Court of Justice in The Hague in 2001. On 5 March 2014, Bahrain withdrew its ambassadors from Qatar to protest Qatar's non-compliance with a November 2013 agreement not to "interfere" in countries' internal affairs. The widely accepted cause for this move was Qatar's support for the organization, the Muslim Brotherhood. On 5 June 2017, Bahrain, along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, announced that it would cut ties with Qatar. | |
| 25 January 1978 | See Bangladesh–Qatar relations On 25 January 1978, an agreement on the commencement of diplomatic relations was signed. Approximately 123,000 Bangladeshi expatriates were working in Qatar in 2015, mainly in the construction sector. In June 2017, Bangladesh signed an agreement with Qatari company RasGas to receive 2.5 million tonnes of LNG annually for the following 15 years. | |
| 2 October 1991 | See Brunei–Qatar relations Relations between the two countries were established on 2 October 1991.
| |
| July 1988 | See China–Qatar relationsChina and Qatar formed relations in July 1988. Emir Tamim bin Hamad made his first visit to China in November 2014. While there, he signed a number of accords with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, one of which entailed the formation of a China-Qatar Strategic Partnership. | |
| 16 March 1993 | Both countries formed diplomatic relations on 16 March 1993.
| |
| 1973 | See India–Qatar relations with Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha, June 2016 India and Qatar began bilateral relations in 1973. Both countries signed a maritime defence agreement and an information-sharing agreement in November 2008. As part of these agreements, the inaugural India-Qatar Joint Committee on Defence Co-operation meeting was hosted in the Qatari capital Doha in 2008. | |
| 1976 | See Indonesia–Qatar relationsIndonesia and Qatar established bilateral relations in 1976. The two countries have signed a number of memorandums of understanding in the fields of air transport, tourism, and agriculture.
| |
| October 1971 | See Iran–Qatar relationsQatar and Iran signed an agreement on setting up diplomatic relations in October 1971, only one month after Qatar gained its independence. The two countries have close ties. Both are members of OPEC, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Unlike fellow GCC member states Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Qatar generally refrains from criticizing Iran's domestic and foreign activities. Qatar has also held several high-level meetings with Iranian officials to discuss security and economic agreements. They jointly control the world's largest gas field. In addition to ties in the oil and natural gas arena, Iran and Qatar also cooperate in the shipping sector. In January 2016, as a result of the attack on the Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran by Iranian protesters, Qatar recalled its ambassador to Tehran and denounced the attack. On 23 August 2017, Qatar announced it would return its ambassador to Iran. | |
Following the 1990–91 Gulf War, in which Qatar and Iraq were on opposing sides, Qatar closed their embassy in Baghdad. Relations gradually improved between the two countries in the late 1990s. Qatar reopened its embassy for the first time twenty-five years in mid-2015, and in September 2015, appointed its ambassador to Iraq. | ||
| See Israel–Qatar relations Qatar established trade relations with the State of Israel in 1996. Despite Qatar's support of Hamas and its cordial relations with Hezbollah, Israeli leaders have maintained direct contact with the emirate. In January 2007, in his last months as vice premier, Shimon Peres paid a high-profile visit to the capital city of Doha. Peres also visited Qatar in 1996, when he launched the new Israeli trade bureau there. The bureau was closed in February 2009. In 2010, Qatar twice offered to restore trade relations with Israel and allow the reinstatement of the Israeli mission in Doha, on condition that Israel allow Qatar send materials and money to Gaza for its infrastructure, and that Israel make a public statement expressing appreciation for Qatar's efforts. Israel refused on the grounds that Qatari materials could be used by Hamas against Israel, and that Israel did not want to get involved in the competition between Qatar and Egypt over mediation. | ||
| 1972 | See Japan–Qatar relations Diplomatic relations between Qatar and Japan were established in 1972. The two countries share strong economic ties, with Japan being Qatar's foremost trading partner, and Qatar ranking as Japan's sixth most significant import partner in 2016. Japan has an embassy in Doha. | |
| 1972 | See Jordan–Qatar relations Qatar and Jordan had turbulent relations since the 2000s. Authorities in Qatar arrested and tried a Jordanian journalist working for Qatar TV named Firas Majali on charges of espionage in February 2002 and in August 2002, Jordan closed Al Jazeera's Amman bureau over a segment deemed insulting towards its ruling family. Additionally, Jordan recalled its ambassador to Doha that month. A Qatari court sentenced Firas Majali to death in October 2002, but in March 2003, the Qatari emir granted Majali a pardon after meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan. This prompted Jordan to reinstate Al Jazeera's Amman bureau that year. On June 6, 2017, one day after the beginning of the 2017 Qatari diplomatic crisis, Jordan announced that it would be cutting back ties with Qatar in solidarity with the blockading countries as well as shuttering the Al Jazeera bureau based there. Bilateral trade between Qatar and Jordan improved by the end of the third quarter of 2019, with the number of joint Qatari-Jordanian companies established in the Qatari market exceeding 1,700 as compared to 1,550 firms at the end of 2018. | |
| July 1993 | See Kazakhstan–Qatar relations Kazakhstan and Qatar signed an official agreement formalizing diplomatic relations in July 1993.
| |
| See Kuwait–Qatar relationsIn 1990, at the beginning of the Gulf War, Qatar was among the Arab countries to condemn Iraq's occupation of Kuwait. It also pledged military support to Kuwait. Qatari soldiers participated in the Battle of Khafji, the first major ground engagement in the Gulf War. Amir Sabah Al-Sabah was recognized as chief mediator of the 2017 Qatari diplomatic crisis. Kuwait's neutrality and good relations with both parties were the main reasons behind its status as mediator. | ||
| 3 March 1998 | Officially, diplomatic relations between the two countries started on 3 March 1998.
| |
| 3 February 2005 | Diplomatic exchange between Qatar and Laos commenced on 3 February 2005. | |
Qatar mediated negotiations between leading Lebanese political parties in 2008 during the backdrop of the 2006–08 Lebanese protests. The Doha Agreement was signed by all parties in May after five days of negotiations, resolving the crisis. In 2010, the Qatari emir became the first Arab leader to tour South Lebanon and view the various projects it funded following the 2006 Lebanon War. Qatar contributed $3mn in funding to the restoration of Lebanon following the war, and financed the reconstruction of over 12,000 residential units and a number of buildings in 195 villages in southern Lebanon. The emir visited a hospital in Bint Jbeil and a nearby mosque and church which he funded the reconstruction of, while being accompanied by Lebanon's President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri. In January 2019, the Qatari government pledged to invest in Lebanon by purchasing government bonds worth $500 million in order to improve Lebanon’s economic situation. | ||
| 1974 | See Malaysia–Qatar relations The two countries formalized diplomatic relations in 1974.
| |
| 26 May 1984 | The two countries initiated relations on 26 May 1984. On 5 June 2017, in solidarity with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, Maldives decided to sever ties with Qatar. | |
| 26 December 2005 | Both countries have had diplomatic relations since 26 December 2005.
| |
| 21 January 1998 | The inception of Monglia–Qatar relations date back to 21 January 1998. Qatar donated $10 million to Mongolia for its Millennium Road Project in 2006. In February 2020, Qatar and Mongolia signed a memorandum of understanding to establish political consultations between the foreign affairs ministries of both the countries. | |
| 21 January 1977 | Diplomatic relations were inaugurated on 21 January 1977. The Nepali ambassador to Qatar, Maya Kumari Sharma, described the emirate as an "open jail" in reference to the working conditions of migrant Nepali laborers.
| |
| 11 January 1993 | Qatar and North Korea formed diplomatic links on 11 January 1993. | |
| 1970 | See Oman–Qatar relations Formal diplomatic relations date back to 1970. Oman helped facilitate shipping to Qatar after several Arab countries cut sea routes to Qatar during the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis. Following the onset of the crisis in June 2017, most Qatari-destined goods flowed through the Port of Salalah and Sohar Port. Two direct shipping lines between the aforementioned ports and Qatar's Hamad Port were launched the same month. When Qatar Airways was banned from Saudi airspace, Oman stepped in and transported Saudi-based Qataris back to Doha. At the official level, Oman remained uninvolved in the dispute, but its status as an alternative transit route has helped Qatar bypass the blockade imposed by its neighbors. | |
| 1972 | See Pakistan–Qatar relations Formal diplomatic ties were formed in 1972. Qatar invested $500 million in Pakistan in June 2019 as part of a planned $3 billion investment in the country. | |
| ||
| 5 May 1981 | See Philippines–Qatar relationsThe Philippines and Qatar established diplomatic relations on 5 May 1981. As of 2014, about 200,000 Filipinos live in Qatar. | |
| Dipolmatic ties ended on 5 June 2017 | See Saudi Arabia-Qatar relations and Qatar–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict In September 1992, tensions arose between Qatar and Saudi Arabia when Saudi forces allegedly attacked a Qatari border post, resulting in the death of two Qatari soldiers and the imprisonment of a third. Saudi Arabia withdrew its ambassador from Doha due to some reservations over Al Jazeera content in 2002. It was not until 2008 that Saudi Arabia reinstated its ambassador to Qatar. On 5 March 2014, Saudi Arabia once again withdrew its ambassador from Qatar, this time to protest Qatar's non-compliance with a November 2013 agreement not to "interfere" in countries' internal affairs. The widely accepted cause for this move was Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood. On 5 June 2017, Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic relations with Qatar. The move was followed by a number of other countries in the region and beyond. | |
| 1984 | Diplomatic ties between the two were created in 1984.
| |
| April 1974 | Qatar and South Korea established diplomatic relations in 1974. On 8 March 2015, Qatari foreign minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah and his South Korean counterpart, Yun Byung-se signed a memorandum of understanding entailing joint diplomatic training between the Diplomatic Institute of Qatar and the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and South Korean president Park Geun-hye attended the signing ceremony held in Doha.
| |
| During the Syrian Civil War, Qatar, along with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and western states, vocally and materially supported different rebels with arms and funds against the government. Qatar has been the biggest sponsor of Syrian opposition forces during the civil war. | ||
| 1980 | See Qatar–Thailand relations Qatar and Thailand formed relations in 1980. Their cooperation mainly revolves around tourism and energy. In 2019, considering Qatar’s advancements in the field of sports, Thailand signed a MoU with Qatar for sports cooperation and exchange. | |
| 1973 | See Qatar–Turkey relations The history of bilateral relations between Qatar and Turkey dates back to the 1973. In the 1980s, the two nations began signing bilateral agreements with one another. Relations gained further traction in the 2000s with the signing of a further number of bilateral agreements. Qatar and Turkey share similar positions on the Syrian Civil War and the Egyptian Crisis. Their coordination in regional politics has been described as an alliance. On 2 December 2015, during a Turkish presidential visit to Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad and Tayyip Erdoğan announced the planned creation of a Turkish military base in Qatar; a first for Turkey in the Persian Gulf. As part of their foreign policy priorities, both countries overtly provides region-wide support for Muslim Brotherhood. | |
| 22 November 1996 | Both countries released a joint communiqué on 22 November 1996 formally declaring the beginning of diplomatic relations. | |
| Dipolmatic ties ended on 5 June 2017 | See Qatar–United Arab Emirates relations In 1995, after Hamad bin Khalifa deposed his father to become emir of Qatar, UAE granted asylum to the deposed Khalifa bin Hamad. Qatar accused UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, of plotting against the new emir, to which the accused countries denied all charges. Several hundred arrests were made in relation to the incident throughout the next two years, and in February 1996, the Qatar Amiri Guard was mobilised. UAE was one of the three countries which withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar in 2014. On 5 June 2017, UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, giving the country's diplomats 48 hours to leave the country. UAE was implicated in the hacking of the Qatar News Agency, which set off the diplomatic crisis. | |
| 27 November 1997 | In a meeting in Ankara on 27 November 1997, Qatar and Uzbekistan released a joint statement formally declaring the commencement of diplomatic relations. | |
| 8 February 1993 | See Qatar–Vietnam relations Qatar and Vietnam formed ties on 8 February 1993.
|