Doha, April 19 (QNA) - Advisor to the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari underlined that the Qatari diplomacy is based on constants and values that are not subject to negotiation or change, represented in standing with the right, achieving justice, supporting the oppressed, and ensuring the rights of people to self-determination, which earned the State of Qatar a global position as a reliable and active partner in the international arena, and ensured the continuity and stability of its foreign policy and its positive interaction with its regional and international environment.
In an interview with Qatari daily Al-Sharq published Wednesday, Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari said that the State of Qatar seeks in its foreign policy to help ensure a minimum level of good governance and achieve stability and prosperity in the region. This approach outlines the Qatari positions on many issues, on top of which is the Palestinian cause, as the Qatari position is principled and stems from the belief that this is the central issue for the Arab and Islamic nations, and it is not subject to negotiation or bargaining.
He highlighted the success of the Qatari mediation in many crucial files, such as Afghanistan, the Iranian nuclear file, and between the parties in Chad. He stressed that this success is the result of continuous work and intensive collective efforts carried out by the Qatari diplomacy, based on desire and serious study without prior agendas, which guarantees the success of the political endeavors aimed at achieving peace and security, not only in the region, but in the whole world.
The Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that Qatar World Cup builds on this achievement rather than being the beginning of achievement, leaving a true legacy for the state on the sports, diplomatic and humanitarian levels, which we are working to implement more effectively. "There was an affirmation by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, that the World Cup is not a Qatari hosting and championship, rather an occasion to rehabilitate the Arab region and the Islamic world in general on the international level. This region, which the western media and international discourse have always portrayed as a region of backwardness, crises and wars, has been able, through the World Cup in Qatar, to export in a month its culture, values and all that is beautiful in it, through this global event," Dr. Al Ansari said.
"Today, we in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said, are working to achieve the goal of building on the legacy of this tournament, which cannot be limited to the sports aspect, rather goes beyond to the humanitarian and diplomatic aspects that have been achieved in this tournament," he stressed, explaining that there are many opportunities to invest in these aspects through marketing, not only for Qatari investments in terms of economy, but also for Qatari thought that is based on the principles and values that form the foundations of the State.
He noted that the positive outcome has been seen through a number of diplomatic visits after the World Cup, noting the efforts of the Qatari embassies in various countries which organized a number of activities to promote the World Cup and introduce the Arab culture more closely through various events. People abroad now refer to Doha when introducing the Arab and Gulf region after the success of the World Cup. This in itself an important legacy that establishes an honorable image of Qatar, its distinguished infrastructure and its hospitable people, he said.
He stressed that the World Cup was a stimulus for the country in general, not only in the field of foreign policy. "I believe that the most important and prominent change is this stimulus that helps us to strengthen the legacy after the World Cup. Today, initiatives are increasing, the volume of foreign work is developing, and our diplomatic relations have become more diversified. However, I cannot really say that this progress is only related to the World Cup, as there is a strategic vision developed many years ago to promote the external work of the State of Qatar under the directives of HH the Amir. A few months before the World Cup, HH the Amir made a very important European tour. Before that, there was a tour in Latin America and another in Asia. All these Amiri tours gave impetus to the Qatari foreign policy," Dr. Al Ansari said.
He indicated that Qatar was subjected, to malicious campaigns on many occasions, and was a victim of false information and misleading media on an international level. However, despite the relentless attempts and sometimes the concerted efforts of countries and institutions, parties and lobbies from different countries, the reality on the ground outweighs the right, especially in light of the cohesion of the Qatari society and its tendency to stand by the right.
He noted that the stereotype greatly affected the way some media outlets dealt with the World Cup before they came to Doha, but upon their arrival in Doha, this negative image was dissipated by the testimonies of international media professionals. This clarity with which Qatar dealt with international media campaigns, and showing the true face on the ground and not by exaggerating any achievement, proved in the end that the best way to resist this kind of campaign is to succeed and prove the truth in reality.
On the remarkable successes achieved by the Qatari diplomacy in mediation in a number of files in the past years, Advisor to the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari said that HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, when asked in an interview with the French Magazine "Le Point" about his definition of Qatar, His Highness said: "We are a reliable source of energy and a facilitator of peace." When HH the Amir answers this question in this way, it places a special responsibility to work in this direction, and alarms the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that it is a facilitator of peace and not only a mediator. This is an essential role and represents an important part of the definition of the State of Qatar from the wise leadership's perspective. Therefore, the role of the Ministry is to activate these mediations, and build on the successes to ensure that the next successes will be more influential in achieving peace and security, not only in our region, but in the world as a whole.
Recently, the Qatari diplomacy achieved a success in the peace talks in Chad, and activated the existing mediation between DR Congo and Rwanda. There are, of course, many efforts in mediation, combating terrorism and resolving disputes through the various departments of the Ministry and its multiple specializations which work within the framework of peace facilitation. We also have efforts in Afghanistan that build on past success in the mediation, Dr. Al Ansari said.
On Qatar's position on the conflict in Sudan, he said: "We issued a statement in which we called on all parties to a cease-fire and to resort to a peaceful solution and dialogue. The call for peaceful dialogue between the parties has always been the Qatari position on any conflict. Today, of course, we are very concerned about this negative developments in Sudan, and we have heard international calls from various regional and international parties to stop the ongoing conflict as soon as possible. There can be no delay in finding a solution because every minute equals lives. Qatar has always been ready if asked to play a positive role in facilitating negotiations and peace between the various parties and on a number of issues. Undoubtedly, if the brothers in Sudan ask us to play a role, we are open to this matter."
He stressed that the State of Qatar welcomes any regional or international effort that might contribute to calming the situation in Sudan, expressing the hope that this crisis in brotherly Sudan crisis will not be prolonged, and that these blessed days will see a resort to the voice of wisdom to stop the bleeding in the right of the Sudanese people, who have suffered a lot in recent years due to sanctions and political and economic crises in their various forms.
On Lebanon, Dr. Al Ansari noted an ongoing effort by HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in communicating with the Lebanese parties. Qatar attended the five-way meeting on this matter and participated in the discussion about the possibility of reaching a political solution in Lebanon. Certainly, Qatar has no particular agenda with regard to Lebanon other than achieving stability and prosperity.
He added that Qatar is keen to support the army as a national institution in Lebanon to ensure that it remains steadfast in the face of any economic or political crises, in addition to all the development efforts that can be achieved in Lebanon. On the political level, this visit and other visits before aimed mainly at exploring prospects for solution.
He believed that the solution to the Lebanese crisis must be within, and the role of any external party must be facilitating, supportive, motivating and based on the Lebanese priorities. "Therefore, what we are doing today is trying to form points of view and there is contact with our international partners, whether in the region with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other parties as well with France and the United States. Today, Lebanon needs a regional and international effort to get it out of this crisis," he said.
Regarding the Iranian file and the role that Qatar currently has between Iran and the United States, Dr. Al Ansari explained that the Iranian nuclear file occupies a great importance for Qatar, especially since the region cannot tolerate more tension. The first beneficiaries of de-escalation with Iran will mainly be the countries of the region, including Qatar. Therefore, in this mediation specifically, there is a Qatari agenda to achieve peace for us and the peoples of the region. Qatar has worked intensively to support the efforts of the European mediator by hosting one of the direct dialogue rounds between the two parties in Doha, and there is continuous Qatari communication and visits in order to advance the dialogue.
"I think, at the present time, optimism to reach an agreement may not prevail in the situation, but the possibility of achieving limited successes on the way to reaching an agreement still exists, and this is what Qatar is now working on with international partners. We are really happy that there will be a de-escalation in the region in general, therefore, Qatar welcomed the agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we hope to see everyone at the dialogue table in order to achieve mutual interest," he added.
He underlined that resolving disputes by peaceful means is one of the constants of the Qatari policy, noting: "The biggest beneficiary of peaceful tools in resolving disputes is undoubtedly small countries, not major powers. This what makes us today keen to support global stability and peace by encouraging peaceful efforts in such conflicts." He noted that the existence of reconciliation in the region lowers the escalation, and prompts sitting at the dialogue table to talk transparently about the differences to find political ways to resolve them, other than weapons.
On the Syrian crisis, Dr. Al Ansari said: "We hope to see a solution to the Syrian crisis that achieves the aspirations of the Syrian people for security and stability. Of course, this is not a single country position.. The decision to return Syria to the League of Arab States is a general Arab decision.. Most of the Arab countries that took a decision against the Syrian regime have not yet found reasons to end the freeze on Syria's membership, since the reasons still exist. The Qatari position is firm unless there is a solution and a real political and diplomatic development that achieves the aspirations of the Syrian people, and to have a state of Arab consensus on this file. This issue is sovereign, and each country can deal with the Syrian file as it deems appropriate."
"We support holding consultations and discussion on this issue between the various regional parties and with the international parties. It should be emphasized that the Qatari position stemmed from a clear condemnation and the need to deal with crimes committed against the Syrian people. These crimes cannot be subject to a statute of limitations. We need a real price to be paid to the Syrian people," he continued.
Regarding mediation between the Taliban and the United States, Dr. Al Ansari said that the most prominent motive for Qatar was to stop the war. This destructive machine that will only result in more victims on a daily basis, which is what happened. The war stopped for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century. "This achievement was the most important for us in the first stage.. We always knew, and I think the whole world knew that the biggest challenge would be the post-war stage, because we are not talking here about a natural return to stability and to existing, strong and well-established state institutions. We are talking about a country that has been living in a devastating, sprawling war, and a stifling economic and humanitarian crisis for a quarter of a century."
He indicated that the Qatari role in Afghanistan has not been interrupted on the humanitarian, developmental and political level. HE the envoy Dr. Mutlaq Al Qahtani was in Afghanistan recently and contacted the Afghan parties to open a transparent discussion with the caretaker government in Afghanistan regarding all issues, including issues on which we clearly disagree with them such as human rights, education and women's work. However, this does not mean that we go back to boycotting Afghanistan and isolating it again globally. We always say to our international partners that the only way to achieve progress in Afghanistan is through more engagement, not more isolation. We represent the interests of the United States and a number of European countries in Afghanistan, we host their embassies in Doha, and we communicate with international parties to reach special solutions at the level of humanitarian relief.
Regarding the development of intra-Gulf relations, Dr. Al Ansari pointed to a positive developments since the signing of Al-Ula agreement, and the committees began working with different countries. The last of these meetings was a meeting with the Bahraini side, and there are separate meetings in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. "I believe that today we can talk about completing the march of cooperation with the brothers. On the political level, we saw numerous meetings between the leaders and mutual visits that took place during the recent period, in a way that expresses the aspirations of the Gulf peoples in the Gulf cooperation project."
"It was agreed to restore diplomatic relations, and now the focus is on procedural work. With regard to aviation, the technical committees began working in this framework for the return of aviation between the two countries, and it will be, God willing, in the shortest possible time. We are also awaiting the visits of the technical committees regarding the opening of embassies. These are bureaucratic procedures that will take time normally," he added.
"The same thing, with regard to the United Arab Emirate. There are also technical committees working between the two countries. There was a meeting recently and we are waiting for the first and essential step, the reopening of embassies and other procedures," he continued.
At the end of his interview, Advisor to the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari highlighted the existing cooperation between the State of Qatar and the United Nations, which has been greatly enhanced over the past few years by the efforts of the Qatari mission, led by HE Sheikha Alya bint Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, with the aim of enhancing Qatar's role on the international scene.
He noted the inauguration of the UN House Qatar which includes 12 UN offices. This represents a real leap for regional work with regard to the international system. He expressed the hope that this cooperation will enhance the presence of the State of Qatar, and achieve more cooperation at the international level in order to advance the multilateral work to make positive transformations, especially with regard to regional crises and humanitarian issues, to ensure global peace and security, and consolidate Qatar's role as a supporter of this international organization. (QNA)