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Gas riches and ambitious leader put Qatar on diplomatic map Gas riches and ambitious leader put Qatar on diplomatic map
(3 months later)
The global frenzy over the opening of the Taliban's office-cum-unofficial embassy in Doha has barely died down, but the Qatari capital will be back in the headlines on Saturday as world leaders fly in for a high-profile Friends of Syria meeting.The global frenzy over the opening of the Taliban's office-cum-unofficial embassy in Doha has barely died down, but the Qatari capital will be back in the headlines on Saturday as world leaders fly in for a high-profile Friends of Syria meeting.
That seems to be the way the leaders of this tiny, but extraordinarily wealthy Gulf state, like things. Since Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani took over from his father in a bloodless palace coup nearly 20 years ago, he has turned his country from a regional bit-player into an international heavyweight.That seems to be the way the leaders of this tiny, but extraordinarily wealthy Gulf state, like things. Since Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani took over from his father in a bloodless palace coup nearly 20 years ago, he has turned his country from a regional bit-player into an international heavyweight.
A century ago Qatar was a poor, isolated Gulf peninsula. It has just 60km of land border, with Saudi Arabia, and is smaller than the Falklands Islands.A century ago Qatar was a poor, isolated Gulf peninsula. It has just 60km of land border, with Saudi Arabia, and is smaller than the Falklands Islands.
Natural gas finds and ambitious leadership mean its population of around 300,000 today has the highest per-capita income in the world, earning an average $100,000 (£65,000) a year. Its Al-Jazeera television channel claims to reach around 80 million viewers. The economic boom has drawn in over 1.5 million foreign workers, and the country is building a vast new airport which will have squash courts, a bamboo forest and its own terminal for the royal family and people travelling on private jets.Natural gas finds and ambitious leadership mean its population of around 300,000 today has the highest per-capita income in the world, earning an average $100,000 (£65,000) a year. Its Al-Jazeera television channel claims to reach around 80 million viewers. The economic boom has drawn in over 1.5 million foreign workers, and the country is building a vast new airport which will have squash courts, a bamboo forest and its own terminal for the royal family and people travelling on private jets.
To sports fans Qatar's name has become more than a crossword curiosity, most famous as host of the 2022 World Cup, to Londoners as the money behind the Shard skyscraper, and to cash-strapped governments as the home of a sovereign wealth fund with a voracious appetite for diverse global investments.To sports fans Qatar's name has become more than a crossword curiosity, most famous as host of the 2022 World Cup, to Londoners as the money behind the Shard skyscraper, and to cash-strapped governments as the home of a sovereign wealth fund with a voracious appetite for diverse global investments.
Qatar's billions earned from gas exports have been key in this rise to prominence, but they have been underpinned by diplomacy focused on mediation.Qatar's billions earned from gas exports have been key in this rise to prominence, but they have been underpinned by diplomacy focused on mediation.
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a Chatham House fellow, wrote in a recent research paper: "Mediation lies at the heart of Qatari foreign policy and represents an attempt to mark Qatar as an independent and progressive international actor."Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a Chatham House fellow, wrote in a recent research paper: "Mediation lies at the heart of Qatari foreign policy and represents an attempt to mark Qatar as an independent and progressive international actor."
Seeking a role as peacemaker was a canny choice for a rich but small country, according to Mehran Kamrava, director of the Centre for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Qatar.Seeking a role as peacemaker was a canny choice for a rich but small country, according to Mehran Kamrava, director of the Centre for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Qatar.
"Qatar's successes have been facilitated by a combination of its perceived neutrality by the disputants, the vast financial resources at its disposal to host mediation talks and offer financial incentives for peace, and the personal commitment and involvement of the state's top leaders," Kamrava wrote in 2011, when a Taliban office in the country was first mooted."Qatar's successes have been facilitated by a combination of its perceived neutrality by the disputants, the vast financial resources at its disposal to host mediation talks and offer financial incentives for peace, and the personal commitment and involvement of the state's top leaders," Kamrava wrote in 2011, when a Taliban office in the country was first mooted.
Doha's negotiating reach has been bolstered by its powerful television station. A view endorsed by US ambassador Joseph LeBaron in a cable published by Wikileaks. "Al-Jazeera's ability to influence public opinion throughout the region is a substantial source of leverage for Qatar," he wrote.Doha's negotiating reach has been bolstered by its powerful television station. A view endorsed by US ambassador Joseph LeBaron in a cable published by Wikileaks. "Al-Jazeera's ability to influence public opinion throughout the region is a substantial source of leverage for Qatar," he wrote.
It has been an open secret that Afghan president Hamid Karzai would have preferred to have a Taliban office based in Saudi Arabia or Turkey, but the Turks were reluctant and the Saudis had been burned by the catastrophic failure of mediation efforts they hosted in the 1990s.It has been an open secret that Afghan president Hamid Karzai would have preferred to have a Taliban office based in Saudi Arabia or Turkey, but the Turks were reluctant and the Saudis had been burned by the catastrophic failure of mediation efforts they hosted in the 1990s.
Qatar was willing to fill the gap, and after two years of stuttering preparatory talks, the Taliban unveiled their office with all the trappings of an embassy, including a flag and plaque carrying the name harking back to their days in power in Kabul – the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. That display enraged Karzai last week and derailed talks between Kabul and Washington.Qatar was willing to fill the gap, and after two years of stuttering preparatory talks, the Taliban unveiled their office with all the trappings of an embassy, including a flag and plaque carrying the name harking back to their days in power in Kabul – the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. That display enraged Karzai last week and derailed talks between Kabul and Washington.
The sight of Taliban representatives behaving like a government-in-exile enraged Afghans and Karzai shut down plans to send a delegation to Doha, slamming US duplicity.The sight of Taliban representatives behaving like a government-in-exile enraged Afghans and Karzai shut down plans to send a delegation to Doha, slamming US duplicity.
Indeed the Taliban headquarters seems no different from, perhaps even slightly superior to, the actual Afghan delegation barely a kilometre away. A white villa further out of town, it is roughly the same size as the squat brown and sandy building housing the Taliban, but in slightly less good repair. Police perhaps aware of sensitivities chased away a journalist trying to take pictures.Indeed the Taliban headquarters seems no different from, perhaps even slightly superior to, the actual Afghan delegation barely a kilometre away. A white villa further out of town, it is roughly the same size as the squat brown and sandy building housing the Taliban, but in slightly less good repair. Police perhaps aware of sensitivities chased away a journalist trying to take pictures.
The diplomats coming to talk about the fate of Syria on Saturday – including US secretary of state John Kerry, French president François Hollande, and British foreign secretary William Hague – will no doubt be meeting diplomats from another controversial embassy in town.The diplomats coming to talk about the fate of Syria on Saturday – including US secretary of state John Kerry, French president François Hollande, and British foreign secretary William Hague – will no doubt be meeting diplomats from another controversial embassy in town.
In March the Syrian opposition opened its first official delegation, taking over the building that once housed diplomats loyal to Bashar al-Assad and a reminder of how symbolically important embassies are, as Karzai is so keenly aware.In March the Syrian opposition opened its first official delegation, taking over the building that once housed diplomats loyal to Bashar al-Assad and a reminder of how symbolically important embassies are, as Karzai is so keenly aware.
Diplomatic tensions over the botched office opening may also be rippling abroad. The Afghan embassy in Islamabad revealed that one of their diplomats was shot and wounded in a normally placid shopping market in the Pakistani capital. Traditionally uneasy relations between Afghanistan and its neighbour have hit rock bottom amid anger over the negotiations.Diplomatic tensions over the botched office opening may also be rippling abroad. The Afghan embassy in Islamabad revealed that one of their diplomats was shot and wounded in a normally placid shopping market in the Pakistani capital. Traditionally uneasy relations between Afghanistan and its neighbour have hit rock bottom amid anger over the negotiations.
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