Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani emphasized Qatar's appreciation of the participation of US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in the second strategic dialogue between Qatar and the United States, which reflects the excellent historical relations between our two countries and the alliance that was built in the last decades.
He added during the joint press conference with Michael Pompeo US Secretary of State, that the partnership between Qatar and United States is a strong partnership based on very strong premises, based on an understanding and – mutual understanding and interests. "We have signed three agreements today on education, culture, and an MOU for supporting defense activities in Al Udeid Air Base, and we are looking forward towards the tangible results of this dialogue for our ", he said. strategic relations to witness a quality bond, a quality progress
During his bilateral meeting with the US Secretary of State, the Foreign Minister discussed all issues of interest for our countries, regional issues, regional security issues starting with the Gulf Cooperation Council and the peace process in the Middle East, as well as the reconciliation in Afghanistan, along with other issues such as Syria and counterterrorism.
The foreign minister concluded the we are looking forward to the outputs of this meeting to be the foundation of a stronger future phase of relations between our two countries, and we hope that further political coordination continues on all issues of regional security of interest to both our countries
Minister Pompeo declared that he was honored to participate in the strategic dialogue and added that, as President Trump pointed out when he hosted the Emir at the White House last year, this relationship is witnessing great things, and this is undoubtedly true today.
Both of our governments have taken concrete steps to implement agreements signed at last year’s inaugural Strategic Dialogue in Washington, including in the fields of counterterrorism, combating trafficking in persons, cybersecurity, nuclear safeguards, and energy cooperation. Today we reached a few new agreements that will grow and make our relationship even more robust.
“We focused first and foremost on security and defense partnership. We signed a new MOU on the expansion of our presence at Al Udeid”, he said.
He also added “as the host of thousands of U.S. military personnel and the CENTCOM forward headquarters, this base is key to American security and our shared efforts to promote regional stability. We thank Qatar for its dedication to improving and modernizing it.”
Secretary Pompeo stressed during the bilateral meeting with his excellency the foreign minister of the state of Qatar, the importance of unity among the Gulf Cooperation Council members. He added that the President Trump and I both believe the ongoing dispute in the region has dragged on for too long and the dispute benefits adversaries and harms our mutual interests. Our nations do important work and we have important work to continue to do together, and the United States hopes the parties involved will see once again the benefits of cooperation and take actions necessary to rebuild unity in their ranks. A united GCC is essential to the success of the Middle East Strategic Alliance, which we hope will include the GCC, Egypt, and Jordan.
Press conference full text:
https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2019/01/288451.htm