Qatar a dear friend, reliable and capable partner: Biden

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and President Joe Biden hold talks in the White House yesterday.

*Amir highlights rights of Palestinian people *US to classify Qatar as a major non-NATO ally *Biden welcomes Qatar Airways-Boeing deal His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and President Joe Biden of the friendly United States of America discussed the strong bilateral strategic co-operation relations between the two countries, and ways to develop and strengthen them in various fields. They also discussed, during the meeting, which was held at the White House yesterday afternoon, the most prominent regional and international developments. In a statement, the US president at the beginning of the meeting, welcomed His Highness the Amir, saying: “I am pleased to have a true friend among us today with whom we have had a wonderful relationship since I took office ... His Highness Sheikh I welcome you to the White House.” President Biden noted the partnership between the two countries, which extends for fifty years and which in the past year has been at the forefront of many American interests, including the evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans, the preservation of stability in Gaza by providing aid to save Palestinian lives and dealing with threats at the level of the Middle East, and many others. Regarding the agenda of the meeting, Biden stressed that many issues will be discussed, including security in the Gulf region and the Middle East, the stability of global energy supplies, the continuation of bilateral work to support the Afghan people, and the strengthening of trade and investment co-operation between the two friendly countries.  President Biden welcomed the deal concluded by Qatar Airways Group and Boeing, considering it one of the largest deals ever concluded by Boeing and will create tens of thousands of rewarding job opportunities in the United States. On Qatar, President Biden said: “Qatar is a dear friend, reliable and capable partner, and I will inform Congress of my intention to classify Qatar as a major non-NATO ally of the United States, which reflects the importance of our relations,” stressing that this step should have been taken a long time ago, as he expressed his thanks to His Highness the Amir for the visit and his commitment to the friendly relations between the two countries and peoples. For his part, His Highness the Amir expressed his sincere thanks to President Biden for the warm meeting, stressing that the year 2022 is extremely important as it marks the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between  Qatar and the United States, expressing his pride in these solid relations and what the two countries have achieved until now. His Highness the Amir affirmed that his talks with President Biden will focus on the security of the region, noting the strength of the two countries that have reached an important extent in their work together in Afghanistan. In this regard, His Highness expressed his pride in helping to evacuate tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan. His Highness also indicated that he will discuss with the president various issues, including the rights of the Palestinian people and other issues of the region, expressing his pride and pleasure in the relations that unite Qatar and the United States. He also stressed the continuation of working together to find ways to achieve peace in the region. The talks were attended from the Qatari side by HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad al-Thani,  HE Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Head of the Amiri Diwan, and HE  Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, Head of the State Security Service, HE Mohammed bin Nasser Al-Hajri, Director of Studies and Research Department at the Amiri Diwan, HE Sheikh Mishaal bin Hamad al-Thani, Ambassador of  Qatar to the United States of America. It was attended on the American side by Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State,  Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser,  William Burns, Director of CIA and , Brett McGurk, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Middle East and African Affairs.