The US Chamber of Commerce, together with a leading think tank, is working on a paper to upgrade the strategic dialogue between the State of Qatar and the US into a strategic partnership, an official said.
The strategic dialogue began about four years ago as a commercial dialogue, according to Khush Choksy, who is senior vice president for Middle East and Turkey Affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce.
“The US Chamber took it to both the governments as an idea; it then grew not just from a commercial and economic level, but to a strategic; so, you have the foreign ministers leading it, as well as the commerce, energy, and finance ministers, making it a very rich activity,” Choksy told Gulf Times.
The governments of Qatar and the US held the first strategic dialogue in Washington, DC, in January 2018, while the second was held in Doha in January last year and was chaired by HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani along with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.
“We had planned a US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue, which was supposed to be led by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, but it was postponed. But we certainly hope it would take place, either in person during the fall or virtually; and we would definitely convene the business communities from the US and Qatar and provide input to them,” Choksy pointed out.
The US Chamber of Commerce is keen to move Qatar-US relations “to the next level,” not just by updating the strategic dialogue to a strategic partnership, “but looking to work with all of the authorities in Qatar,” Choksy stressed, citing the Qatar Free Zone Authority (QFZA), the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), Qatar Airways, and other entities.
“What we are looking into is to enhance the Qatar-US partnership, particularly in the post Covid-19 world: The US offers unique sets of skills and competence across the board. It really provides a lot of opportunities; what we are trying to do is to get from Qatar, both the government and private sector entities, and to reach out to the US Chamber on what their needs are, so that we could facilitate those types of partnerships,” he explained.
Only recently, the US Chamber of Commerce held a webinar with HE the Minister of State Ahmad bin Mohamed al-Sayed, who is also chairman of Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA), to update companies on QFZA’s programmes aimed at encouraging US companies to draw upon some of the incentives there, Choksy said.
Other meetings in the pipeline, according to Choksy, include the hosting of HE the Minister of Finance Ali Sherif al-Emadi during the IMF-World Bank meetings. The IMF has not made a decision on whether the meeting will be held in person or virtually, Choksy clarified.
“We also hope to schedule a meeting with HE the Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi during CERAWeek, which takes place in Houston, Texas. Also planned is a roundtable for HE al-Kaabi and US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette to be held at a later date; there is nothing specific, yet.
“We are also working at a potential virtual economic and finance forum or virtual business mission with our affiliate in Qatar — the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar — and in partnership with Qatar Chamber and Qatari Businessmen Association, as well as the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Finance, Qatar Investment Authority, and QFZA,” Choksy said.
Choksy: Enhancing partnership.
