His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and HE President of the United States of America Donald Trump attended a dinner banquet hosted by HE U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in honor of HH The Amir and the accompanying delegation.
The banquet, held at the headquarters of the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington DC, was attended by the Acting Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark Esper, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, Managing Director and Chairwoman of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde, Ivanka Trump and Senior Advisor to the President Jared Kushner.
It was also attended by a number of current and former members of the Congress, and a number of American politicians, businessmen and economists.
At the beginning, the Secretary of the Treasury welcomed HH The Amir and the accompanying delegation, noting that His Highness's visits to the United States underscored the depth of the bilateral cooperation relations between the two friendly countries. He also welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump, members of the government and business leaders.
For his part, President Trump praised the friendship with HH The Amir, looking forward to meeting him at the White House tomorrow.
Trump said that the meeting will be positive, and that the talks will include many areas of trade and military. He noted at the same time the Qatari investments in his country, saying that HH The Amir has been a great ally and helped in establishing a magnificent military installation, which people haven't seen in a long while.
Trump added "This is a great room. Many friends. And everybody I know and recognize just from reading about you and your great successes."
"Tamim, you've been a friend of mine for a long time, before I did this presidential thing, and we feel very comfortable with each other," Trump said.
Trump also said "investments that you make in the United States -- one of the largest in the world -- but the investments that you make are very much appreciated. And I know the planes you're buying and all of the other things you're investing in. And I view it differently; I view it as jobs. Because for me, it's jobs. And today, we set a new record for jobs. We're setting it almost on a daily basis."
In turn, HH The Amir thanked President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary, stressing that the strategic relations between the two countries have witnessed a great progress recently through bilateral strategic dialogue meetings between the two friendly countries.
The following is HH The Amir's speech during the dinner banquet:
President Trump, Friends. It is a great honor to join you again in Washington DC. Thank you for your continued hospitality. And a personal thank you to Secretary Mnuchin for hosting this dinner tonight.
My visit this week will reaffirm the ideals we share, and tonight we are here to celebrate this strong economic partnership.
Our nations share a commitment to human capital, working to create resilient, knowledge-based economies with an emphasis on education, openness, and opportunity for all.
Unfortunately, there are some in my region who do not share our beliefs. In today’s world, at times alliances have to be made with necessary partners, and certain allies are not actually friends.
But with the United States and Qatar, we are partners, allies, and friends.
Qatar and the U.S. are working together to eradicate terrorism and its financing, wherever it may take root, to ensure a more peaceful and secure world.
We continue our mutual commitment to remain closely invested in both military and security alliance, as we are expanding Al Udeid Airbase to accommodate U.S. troops and their families. We are also partnering with charities here like the Bob Woodruff Foundation to support veterans.
And our political cooperation in the wider region creates stability, so that economic development can flourish.
Together, our two countries continue to seek more investment opportunities to further enhance our common prosperity.
Qatar is one of the fastest growing economies in the Middle East, and American companies are a treasured part of Qatar's success and development. We have a long history of exchanging expertise and resources in oil and gas to make both countries top energy exporters.
Our partnerships also keep growing in many non-energy sectors, one being the exciting back-to-back World Cups: Qatar in 2022 and the U.S. in 2026.
This year, our mutual economic partnership is estimated at $185 Billion, a number which we both intend to grow. This has already created more than half a million American jobs.
And in Qatar, America is the number one source of imports. You should all be happy to hear that there is a trade deficit between our countries that favors the United States.
We are looking forward to the continued partnership, alliance and friendship of our two nations, and to the health, prosperity and happiness of the people of the United States of America and Qatar.