Foreign relations of Qatar

Foreign relations of Qatar is conducted through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Arab states were among the first to recognize Qatar, and the country gained admittance to the United Nations and the Arab League after achieving independence in 1971. The country was an early member of OPEC and a founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Diplomatic missions to Qatar are based in its capital, Doha.

Qatar's regional relations and foreign policies are characterized by strategy of balancing and alliance building among regional and great powers. It maintains independent foreign policy and engages in regional balancing to secure its strategic priorities and to have recognition on the regional and international level. As a small state in the gulf, Qatar has an "open-door" foreign policy where Qatar maintain ties to all parties and regional players in the region, including with terror organizations such as Taliban and Hamas. However, Washington Institute published a report in August 2021 stating Qatar's connections with the Taliban have made the country a potential contact for regions seeking negotiations with Afghanistan. Qatar has also been key to negotiating cease-fires between Israel and Hamas that have restored calm after four wars, last seen in 2021.

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. Although according to a report by The Economist in December 2021, Qatar has modified its anti-Islamist policies and demanded Brotherhood activists leave.

In an attempt to quell the mounting criticism, Qatar announced sweeping labour reforms in 2019. This included ending kafala, the system that made it illegal for migrant workers to change jobs or leave the country without their employer's permission, effectively trapping workers who were being exploited and abused. Other reforms included the first minimum wage for migrant workers in the region and harsher penalties for companies that did not comply with the new labour laws. When they came into force in September 2020, the reforms were met with wide acclaim. Fifa called them groundbreaking. The UN said they marked a new era. An international trade union referred to them as a game changer.

It is also one of the few countries in which citizens do not have to pay any taxes.

On October 16, 2019, the Council of Ministers of the State of Qatar unanimously endorsed end to such practice in the country by abolishment of the Kafala system.

On 20 March 2021, Qatar's new non-discriminatory minimum wage law that guaranteed the same minimum wage for all workers, all nationalities, all sectors including the domestic workers, came into force. The law also ensured a minimum monthly wage of QAR1,000 ($275) and minimum allowances for food (QAR300) and housing (QAR500) to the workers.

Qatar is a strategic ally of China, with relationship between the two countries growing stronger. Qatar is a member of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Gulf Cooperation Council, OPEC and the Council of Arab Economic Unity.

Regional relations
In September, 2014. QFFD contributed in enhancing stability for Syrian refugees. Qatar Charity facilitated access to quality education through the rehabilitation of 6 Formal schools in Turkey, Gaziantep, Urfa, Kilis, targeting a total number of 13,540 beneficiaries and 12,860 girls and boys.

On July 10, 2017, according to documents obtained by Al Arabiya, Qatar agreed to quit supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. In order to avoid undermining relations with the Gulf, it also removed non-citizens from Qatar and refused to provide shelter to anyone from a GCC nation.

On March 27, 2022, The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and Qatar on their fourth high-level strategic discussion, discussed strategic priorities and worked together to ensure that the UN effectively supports member states in their efforts to combat terrorism. Out of a total of 35 other contributors, the state of Qatar is the second greatest contributor to the UN trust fund for counter-terrorism.

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."

In mid-March 2024, the Emir of Qatar, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and President of the European Council, HE Charles Michel, discussed about enhancing cooperation between Qatar and the European Union, as well as addressing key regional and global issues, with specific focus on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

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. Other discoveries from the research claimed that Qatar supported the US against the Assad government. Additionally, the nation supported efforts to mediate a conflict-ending political transition in Syria. In March 2021, Qatar, Russia, and Turkey also started a different track of talks on the Syrian peace process.

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.

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.

On February 1, 2023, in an interview, Qatar's foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, stated that his country is actively utilizing its established communication channels with both Washington and Tehran in order to foster a greater alignment of their respective perspectives.

In September 2023, it was reported that Iran expressed its readiness to execute a Qatar-mediated agreement with the United States. The Iranian foreign minister made this announcement on September 14, 2023. According to the terms of the agreement, both Washington and Tehran would release five prisoners, while $6 billion worth of Iranian assets held in South Korea would be released.

The broad outlines of the U.S.-Iran deal, which pertain to the potential release of U.S. citizens detained by Iran, were publicly disclosed on August 10. As part of this agreement, it has been proposed that the funds be transferred to banks in Qatar while simultaneously releasing five Iranians who are currently held in the United States.

In June, it was reported that secret talks took place between Venezuela and the United States, with Qatar serving as the host for these discussions. Qatar has been known for its significant involvement in supporting the United States during delicate negotiations, which notably encompassed a recent prisoner exchange with Iran and facilitated backchannel communications between the U.S. and the Taliban.

On October 7, 2023, Israel and Palestine started an extensive armed conflict. Due to its escalation, On October 9, 2023, Qatari mediators made urgent talks to attempt to arrange the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of Israeli women and children held by the militant group that were being detained in Gaza. Positive progress is being made in the ongoing negotiations, which Qatar has been undertaking in collaboration with the United States. Qatar has played a crucial role in facilitating the release of American and Australian hostages who were stranded in Israel and Palestine.

In October 2023, Qatar's mediation efforts led to the reunion of four Ukrainian children with their families. By December 2023, an additional six Ukrainian children were scheduled to be repatriated from Russia to Ukraine under a Qatar-brokered agreement. In February 2024, a third group of 11 children was successfully returned to their Ukrainian families with the assistance of Qatar's mediation. On March 21, 2024, a new batch of children exchange between Moscow and Kyiv took place at Qatar's Embassy in Moscow, facilitated by Qatar and attended by Ambassador Sheikh Ahmed bin Nasser bin Jassim Al Thani, as confirmed by Russian Children's Ombudswoman Maria Lvova-Belova. Furthermore, the ambassador Sheikh Ahmed expressed gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for their support throughout this process.

Cultural and religious activities
Qatar is an Islamic state with multi-religious minorities like most of the Persian Gulf countries with waves of migration over the last 30 years. The official state religion is Wahhabi Sunni Islam. The community is made up of Sunni and Shi'a Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and small groups of Buddhists and Baha'is. Muslims form 65.5% of the Qatari population, followed by Hindus at 15.4%, Christians at 14.2%, Buddhists at 3.3% and the rest 1.9% of the population follow other religions or are unaffiliated. Qatar is also home to numerous other religions mostly from the Middle East and Asia.

The country has also hosted numerous interfaith dialogue conferences.

The culture of Qatar is strongly influenced by traditional Bedouin culture, with less acute influence deriving from India, East Africa and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf. The peninsula's harsh climatic conditions compelled its inhabitants to turn to the sea for sustenance. Thus, there is a distinct emphasis placed on the sea in local culture. Literature and folklore themes are often related to sea-based activities. Oral arts such as poetry and singing were historically more prevalent than figurative art because of the restrictions placed by Islam on depictions of sentient beings; however, certain visual art disciplines such as calligraphy, architecture and textile arts were widely practiced. Figurative arts were gradually assimilated into the country's culture during the oil era.

Foreign aid
Qatar'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 (or c. £524 million) 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. Qatar pledged $50 million in support to United Nations humanitarian response plan as well as the regional refugee plan for Sudan, during a donor conference in Geneva on 19 June 2023. "Based on our fraternal responsibility and our moral and human duty towards our brothers in Sudan, and as a continuation of our continuous humanitarian and development efforts in brotherly Sudan, we announce the State of Qatar's pledge of $50 million to support the efforts of the Humanitarian Response Plan and the Regional Refugee Plan," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced.

On September 24, 2023, Qatar dispatched a significant quantity of humanitarian and relief aid, amounting to 58 tonnes, to assist the city of Derna in Libya, which had been severely impacted by flooding. This recent contribution elevates the total amount of aid provided by Qatar to support those affected by the floods to an impressive 267 tonnes. Aid typically encompasses a range of essential provisions, including but not limited to shelter essentials, electricity generators, food, and medical commodities.

Recently, Qatar Charity (QC) launched the 'Libya Appeal' campaign, aimed at providing aid to the Libyan population grappling with the consequences of severe floods. These floods have resulted in the loss of numerous lives and the displacement of a significant number of individuals.

Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani also conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the victims affected by the catastrophic floods in Libya through a message posted on the social media platform Twitter. "I extend to our brothers in Libya my sincere condolences and sympathy for the victims of the catastrophic floods, and we in Qatar declare our complete solidarity with the Libyan people to overcome this painful ordeal, and we ask God to have mercy on the dead, bring back the missing, and heal the wounded,". He wrote.

Diplomatic relations
List of countries which Qatar maintains diplomatic relations with: