Amir, US president pledge to boost ties
Doha
TheAmir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held a session of official talks with the US President Donald Trump at the Amiri Diwan on Wednesday. The talks began with HH the Amir welcoming the US president and his accompanying delegation and wishing them a pleasant stay. The talks explored ways to boost existing strategic cooperation across various fields, primarily in defence, economy, investment, energy, education, and cybersecurity, as well as joint efforts to enhance international peace and security. Also on the table were issues of common concern and the latest regional and international developments, particularly in the Middle East.
The session was attended by Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Amiri Diwan Chief HE Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Khulaifi, Minister of Finance HE Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of State for Energy Affairs HE Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, Minister of Commerce and Industry HE Sheikh Faisal bin Thani Al Thani, along with ministers and senior officials.
On the US side, the session was attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and senior officials and members of the official delegation accompanying the US president.
Upon arriving at the Amiri Diwan, the US president was accorded an official reception ceremony that included a 21-gun salute welcome. An Ardha dance was performed in front of the Amiri Diwan featuring cavalry teams, including purebred Arabian horses and camels, symbolising the Qatari environment and authentic national heritage.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
EU and US announce deal: Here's what you need to know
The United States and the European Union have reached a wide-ranging trade agreement, ending a months-long standoff and averting a full-blown trade war just days before President Donald Trump's deadline to impose steep tariffs. The EU will pay 15 percent tariffs on most goods, including cars. The tariff rate is half the 30 percent Trump had threatened to implement starting on Friday. Brussels also agreed on Sunday to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on US weaponry and energy products on top of existing expenditures. Speaking to reporters at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, Trump hailed the agreement as the 'biggest deal ever made'. 'I think it's going to be great for both parties. It's going to bring us closer together,' he added. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the agreement would 'bring stability' and 'bring predictability that's very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic'. Von der Leyen defended the deal, saying the aim was to rebalance a trade surplus with the US. Trump has made no secret of using tariffs to try to trim US trade deficits. Sunday's agreement capped off months of often tense shuttle diplomacy between Brussels and Washington although neither side disclosed the full details of the pact or released any written materials. It follows preliminary trade pacts the US signed with Japan, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines and a 90-day trade truce with China. So how will the deal impact the two sides, which account for almost a third of global trade, and will it end the threats of a tariff war? What was agreed? At a news event at Trump's golf resort, von der Leyen said a 15 percent tariff would apply to European cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors – all important products for Europe's economy. For his part, Trump said US levies on steel and aluminium, which he has set at 50 percent on many countries, would not be cut for EU products, dashing the hopes of industry in the bloc. Elsewhere, aerospace tariffs will remain at zero for now. In exchange for the 15 percent tariff rate on EU goods, Trump said the bloc would be 'opening up their countries at zero tariff' for American exports. In addition, he said the EU would spend an extra $750bn on US energy products, invest $600bn in the US and buy military equipment worth 'hundreds of billions of dollars'. Von der Leyen confirmed that the EU would seek to buy an extra $250bn of US energy products each year from now until 2027. 'With this deal, we are securing access to our largest export market,' she said. At the same time, she acknowledged that the 15 percent tariffs would be 'a challenge for some' European industries. The EU is the US's largest trading partner with two-way trade in goods and services last year reaching nearly $2 trillion. How have European leaders responded? German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the agreement, saying it avoids 'an unnecessary escalation in transatlantic trade relations'. He said a trade war 'would have hit Germany's export-oriented economy hard', pointing out that the German car industry would see US tariffs lowered from 27.5 percent to 15 percent. But French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou called the deal a 'dark day' for Europe, saying the bloc had caved in to the US president with an unbalanced deal that spares US imports from any immediate European retaliation. 'It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, brought together to affirm their common values and to defend their common interests, resigns itself to submission,' Bayrou wrote on X of what he called the 'von der Leyen-Trump deal'. Wolfgang Niedermark, a board member of the Federation of German Industries trade body, called the deal 'an inadequate compromise' with the EU 'accepting painful tariffs'. A 15 percent tariff rate 'will have a huge negative impact on Germany's export-oriented industry', he said. Earlier, Benjamin Haddad, France's European affairs minister, said: 'The trade agreement … will bring temporary stability to economic actors threatened by the escalation of American tariffs, but it is unbalanced.' Echoing that sentiment, Dutch Foreign Trade Minister Hanneke Boerma said the deal was 'not ideal' and called on the commission to continue negotiations with Washington. The European Commission is responsible for negotiating trade deals for the entire bloc. EU ambassadors will be discussing the agreement with the commission this week. How was trade conducted before the deal? On July 12, Trump threatened to impose 30 percent tariffs on EU goods if the two sides couldn't reach a deal before this Friday, the day a suspension expires on the implementation of what Trump calls his 'reciprocal tariffs', which he placed on nearly all countries in the world. Those 'reciprocal tariffs' are due to come into effect in addition to the 25 percent tariffs on cars and car parts and the 50 percent levy on steel and aluminium products Trump already put in place. On the European side, it is understood that Brussels would have pushed ahead with a retaliatory tariffs package on 90 billion euros ($109bn) of US goods, including car parts and bourbon, if talks had broken down. The EU had been a frequent target of escalating trade rhetoric by Trump, who accused the bloc of 'ripping off' the US. In 2024, the US ran a $235.6bn goods deficit with the EU. Pharmaceuticals, car parts and industrial chemicals were among Europe's largest exports to the US, according to EU data. How will the deal impact the US and EU? Bloomberg Economics estimated that a no-deal outcome would have raised the effective US tariff rate on European goods to nearly 18 percent on Friday. The new deal brings that number down to 16 percent, offering a small reprieve to European exporting firms. Still, current trade barriers are much higher than before Trump took office in 2025. According to Bruegel, a research group, the average US tariff rate on EU exports was just 1.5 percent at the end of 2024. William Lee, chief economist at the Milken Institute, told Al Jazeera: 'I think the [Trump] strategy has been clear from the very beginning. … It's brinkmanship. … Either partner with the US or face high tariffs.' Meanwhile, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said: 'President Trump just unlocked one of the biggest economies in the world. The European Union is going to open its $20 trillion market and completely accept our auto and industrial standards for the first time ever.'
Qatar Tribune
15 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
60,000 people in Sri Lanka to benefit from QC's relief and development aid project
Tribune News Network Doha With support from philanthropists in Qatar, Qatar Charity (QC) has launched a relief and development aid distribution project in Sri Lanka. The launch event was attended by representatives from the Sri Lankan government, the Embassy of the State of Qatar, civil society, and several other donors. This initiative forms part of QC's broader collaborative efforts to respond to the aftermath of natural disasters, support individuals with special needs, and empower vulnerable families. The project targets approximately 60,000 people from vulnerable and displaced groups, covering 14 product categories, including grain and spice grinding machines, sewing machines, manual and electric wheelchairs, furniture and desks, blood pressure monitors, and other tools that contribute to improving the daily lives of sisterly families and joint development efforts. In his speech, Mahmoud Abu Khalifa, director of QC's office in Sri Lanka, stated that the project aligns with the organisation's vision of ensuring a dignified life for all. He explained that the distribution of aid is not a substitute for long-term support, but rather a strategic step towards economic empowerment and poverty reduction—particularly for vulnerable, displaced, and disaster-affected families. The credit goes to the people of Qatar for their ongoing support of charitable, humanitarian, and development initiatives around the world, including their meaningful collaboration with government and local bodies in Sri Lanka, he said. Speaking on behalf of Munir Muzafer, deputy minister of justice and national integration, he expressed gratitude to Qatar Charity for its significant efforts in supporting the people of Sri Lanka over the past six years. These efforts included addressing the needs of individuals and families in need, as well as providing relief to those affected by floods. He also extended thanks to the State of Qatar and the Qatari Embassy for their vital role in supporting the Sri Lankan people, stressing the urgent need to facilitate continued cooperation and ensure the sustainability of these initiatives. At the launch, Ali Hassan Al-Emadi from the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Sri Lanka highlighted his direct contribution to the important work carried out by Qatar Aid, which reflects the civilised and humanitarian values upheld by the State of Qatar in promoting human dignity and civil peace. He also emphasised the importance of continued cooperation between Sri Lankan government agencies and Qatar Aid to ensure the sustainability of various contributions for the benefit of Sri Lankan society. R M Madhushika Kanchanamalisaid: 'I am very grateful for this assistance at a time when I was in dire need of support. Now I want to start a small business that will help ease my children's suffering. My thanks go to the donors and for the drops of gratitude they offer through New Hope. I hope this assistance reaches many more women like me.' It is worth noting that the Qatar Charity office in Sri Lanka, alongside the distribution of these items, is currently implementing several development projects. These include the construction of schools and health centres, the drilling of water wells, the establishment of housing for Qur'an readers, and a variety of social and community development initiatives aligned with Sri Lanka's strategic development goals across various sectors.
Qatar Tribune
15 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Fighting continues at Thai-Cambodian border despite Trump's appeal
dpa Bangkok Despite US President Donald Trump's calls for a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, fighting continued on Sunday morning in the border region between the two countries. The Foreign Ministry in Bangkok quoted a military spokesman as saying that Cambodia had opened fire in the morning and hit civilian homes. According to the Thai newspaper Khaosod, the attack took place in the Phanom Dong Rak district in the north-eastern border province of Surin. Cambodia, however, accused Thailand of opening fire early in the morning. The Cambodian newspaper Phnom Penh Post cited a spokeswoman for the Defence Ministry saying 'Thai forces resumed shelling' in the border area in the early hours of Sunday. 'In all combat zones... Thai forces have used artillery, drones and aircraft to launch heavy shells, bombs and cluster munitions on Cambodian soil,' spokeswoman Mali Socheata was quoted as saying in a Sunday press briefing. According to the Cambodian ministry, two well-known Hindu temples have also been targeted. Since Thursday, the South-East Asian neighbouring states have accused each other of triggering an escalation in a border conflict that has been simmering for decades. After phone calls with the two countries' leaders on Saturday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that they 'have agreed to immediately meet and quickly work out a Ceasefire and, ultimately, PEACE.' In a separate post, Trump said that 'we happen to be, by coincidence, currently dealing on Trade with both Countries, but do not want to make any Deal, with either Country, if they are fighting - And I have told them so.' Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a statement that his country had agreed to Trump's proposal for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. He thanked the US president for his initiative and mediation. Thailand's interim Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said his government agreed 'in principle' with a ceasefire. However, he said the Cambodian side must first show serious intentions to make peace. The central issue of the conflict between the neighbours is the location of the border, which was drawn in colonial times and is interpreted differently by the two countries. According to government figures, more than 130,000 people have fled Thailand, while the Cambodian Defence Ministry put the number of displaced people in Cambodia at 80,000. More than 500 schools in the border area are closed due to the fighting.
