Amir's participation in UNGA elevates Qatar's global role

Former Charge d'Affaires of the US embassy in Qatar William Grant emphasised that the participation of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in the meetings of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Tuesday, consolidates Qatar's international position and confirms the importance that Qatar attaches to the UN and its strong participation in it.In his remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), he indicated that it is almost certain that the war on Gaza will dominate the discussions this year. He added that Qatar has a strong role to play in explaining what it is trying to do and how it is trying to bring peace, not only in Gaza but in the whole region.Regarding Qatar's active role in the UN, he said Qatar provides voluntary contributions to multiple important UN programmes and has strong activity in various events and sessions, which is noticeable through its representative in the UN.Concerning the relations between Qatar and the US, the former charge d'affaires of the US embassy in Qatar indicated that the relations between the two countries have always been very strong. He noted that the relations have become more important in 2023 due to the war in Gaza, where the two countries have been working in an attempt to reach a ceasefire.In this context, Grant praised Qatar's role in this field, voicing his hope that there would be a ceasefire in Gaza soon and that it would be possible to work on rebuilding Gaza and returning to a peaceful situation.He pointed out that this conflict demonstrated the importance of Qatar's role for peace in the region and to put an end to this war that has been ongoing for almost a year. He noted that the US government, led by US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and other senior officials, all communicated with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and other Qatari officials to thank them for the important work that Qatar is doing.In conclusion, he pointed out that Qatar has helped the US a lot, the latest of which was the contacts with Iran and Afghanistan, with which the US has no direct contact, and explained that Qatar plays an important role for the US in helping to establish indirect contacts to address problems that may arise.On the humanitarian side, the former charge d'affaires also noted the assistance provided by Qatar in the US, where it made significant donations to programmes to help veterans who lost their homes in the US, youth groups and others, which shows — in his opinion — the Qatari side that does not engage in politics, but engages in humanitarian relations and maintains the importance of these relations.