How Qatar moves between the United States and Africa
Qatar's latest moves between the United States and Africa. The article by Giuseppe Gagliano
Qatar – like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – is also considerably increasing its synergies with the United States, as evidenced by the increasingly important role that the numerous companies have at the Qatari embassy in Washington. American lobby. Let's think first of the law firm Becker & Poliakoff , the Fozzie Miller Group , Nurnberger & Associates and the Integrated Strategy Group .
This is not surprising, given the centrality that Qatar has for the United States.
In fact, the presence of the United States Space Force (USSF) in Qatar, at the al-Udeid base, has the precise purpose of dissuading the offensive posture of its rivals in the Middle East (such as Iran and Isis for example) and in Asia – through coordination between US space forces, land and sea forces – and to monitor strategic hubs in the Gulf, starting with the Strait of Hormuz.
However, the fact that the military infrastructure of al-Udeid in Qatar is the most important base in the Middle East – there are in fact 5,000 soldiers and numerous fighter-bombers -, and the fact that in May 2019 Qatar and the Central Command of the United States Air Force have signed an agreement for a partnership within NATO, suggesting that the actual goal of the United States is to use the air base to consolidate its power projection by transforming the al-Udeid air base into an infrastructure permanent.
But Qatar is also active on the African front. Abdullah bin Hussein Mohammed al-Jaber has spent his entire career at the Qatari Foreign Ministry and will soon become a key man in implementing synergy with Africa.
Born in 1958, he studied Political Science at Cairo University in 1979 and then at Western Michigan University (USA), where he earned a Masters in 1986. His career as a diplomat took him from Mauritania to India, from the Philippines to 'Hungary. Having worked in the permanent delegations in New York and Geneva, as well as in The Hague, he is familiar with multilateral issues, which is an asset for Doha to consolidate its position in the African Union.
Aware of lagging behind in terms of presence and influence in Africa compared to its reconciled but still rival neighbors in the Gulf, Qatar is making efforts to change its strategy in Africa. However, Qatar's strategy on the continent is marked by a strong economic logic, which revolves around two priority investment sectors: energy security and food.
Qatar's priority remains the Horn of Africa, but the new director will also ensure that the emirate develops its relations with Rwanda, a crucial state in the strategy for East Africa as well as Ivory Coast, a country that he hopes it will help him get closer to the West.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/qatar-stati-uniti/ on Wed, 23 Mar 2022 07:20:41 +0000.