Financing for terrorism. From the American Enterprise institute, this is 50 minutes. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the American Enterprise institute. Sorry for the brief delay, but i think you will find this is a conversation that you will find extraordinarily interesting. We are delighted to welcome today his excellency abdullah bin nasser bin khalifa al thani, excuse my pronunciation. Hes the deputy Prime Minister as of 2017. Alls responsible for ministry of fairness for his issues, including planning, implement a Foreign Policy and he is here for a series of highlevel conversations with the department of defense, department of state and the white house. We looking forward to hearing all of the details. So, whats going to happen today. The minister will join us at the podium for a brief statement and then he will sit down on the stage with our resident visiting fellow excuse me, im getting your title wrong, the easier one. The visiting scholar, andrew, for a conversation, which we will then open up to some questions from the audience. There is a lot to talk about here today. Qatar has been at the center of what i think we will all agree is an ugly disagreement among gcc countries and others, one that has really divided traditional u. S. Allies and has sowed some divisions even within the u. S. Government. We are really very interested to hear your perspective, mr. Minister. The careful on the steps. If you would just join us on the stage. E stage. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for hosting me here and thank you for inviting me today. I hope that today ill have the opportunity to shed the light on some of the issues in the middle east and the turmoil which is taking place in our region, which is not affecting only the interest of the region and the state of qatar, but affecting also the u. S. Interests. And i hope that i can propose some ideas for a way forward. So the u. S. And qatar have been allies for 45 years. We have dozens of agreements that memorialize our commitment to each other. This week our country met for historic Strategic Dialogue. And signed official agreement including defending the Cyber Security of Critical Infrastructure for energy, strengthening trade, investment, and technology, developing International Law enforcement to stop human trafficking, and continuing joint defense commitments. A qatar delegation could not have been welcomed with wider arms. The u. S. And qatar have a unique partnership. When the u. S. Was searching for a home for its troops in the middle east, qatar welcomed them. Today qatar hosts the Largest Military foreign air base in the world. In qatar, 11,000 u. S. Troops, thousands of u. S. Teachers and students, and hundreds of u. S. Owned companies are living and working in qatar. Qatar and the u. S. Are strategically located. We are surrounded by powerful players in the middle east. Some of these nations are bent on intimidation, aggression, and dangerous flirtation with war. Make no mistake, these powers are feuding for domination, taking as prisoners not just the neighbors. Suffering inflicted by these powerhungry forces, not limited to the starvation and devastation of places like yemen, syria, and somalia. The wellbeing of citizens within these dominating regimes is also being sacrificed in the power grab. The illegal blockade started last year against qatar is one of many instruments of sabotage intended to bully my country into submission. The world is discovering that the blockading states will stop at nothing. Illegal market manipulation, humanitarian assaults, silencing dissenters, weaponizing propaganda, and undermining the global fight against terrorism. These intimidation methods threaten the success of all the agreements and investments between qatar and the United States. There is a Silver Lining of this blockade. Qatar has been able to show the resilience and survive under siege. Other countries in the middle east might not be able to withstand the trial of an attack. As we have seen an example after example across the region. Qatar joins the u. S. Passion for restoring security to the middle east. The regional and shortterm danger of aggression is happening before our eyes. Along a spectrum of devastation. The worldwide and longterm danger of aggression will eventually reach countries around the globe. Because these states will stop at nothing. Intentional, international destabilization of the energy and financial markets. And worse, by laying the groundwork for the next generation of terrorism. Terrorism flourishes in oppressive, closed regimes where the needs and rights of the citizens are not met. While many reckless leaders surrounding us double down on hidden and oppressive means of governance, qatar and many other nations in the middle east hope to keep developing into nations that can provide justice and security to its citizens. As i told secretary tillerson and mattis, qatar sees the u. S. As a critical part of that vision. Ending the turmoil in the middle east will take further leadership. Joint cooperation from all countries in the middle east is necessary to restoring lasting security to the region. Qatar and the u. S. Have been fighting terrorism together for many years. We agree that terrorism must not be must not only be destroyed through military efforts, but also by lifting up oppressed with vision of openness and hope. Through lasting social transformations. We have warned repeatedly that imposing repression over reform and development, using the law of power in a state of the power floor, is detrimental to the global counterterrorism efforts. The u. S. And other 72 members of the coalition against isis have spent years crushing this regime. We dont want to find yourselves in the same situation again and again. We need to Work Together to completely end Terrorism Financing, recruitment, propaganda, and extremist ideologies. Wise leadership means put aside personal feelings to help the good of the people. It is qatars hope that gcc can be rebuilt. The citizens of qatar are forgiving and resilient people. We wish for unity. We cant ignore the historic bond between the countries of the gcc and the shared family, cultural, and financial ties that can actually make us stronger. Qatar hopes for a restored gcc which is more transparent and based on shared interests, like trade and security. This restored gcc would need to have a clearer process for raising and resolving differences. Would need to be void of forced compliance regarding Foreign Policy and decisions concerning domestic affairs. Would need to be governed by reasoner over impulse. And would need to serve the best interests of all its members. Regarding the greater middle east region, we cannot rebuild these devastated areas unless more diplomatic pressure is put on powerhungry players. And the holistic security plan is established across the region. This security plan must find common ground, include an arbitration mechanism that gives small and large nations equal p binding consequences for those who create the crisis and threaten security. I hope the International Community will join me in calling for an immediate regional Strategic Dialogue to agree upon common principles of coexistence. Which can serve as a foundation to healing and ultimately prosperity for the region. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you again for being here. I wanted to kind of touch on a point that you stressed about kind of the future of the gcc. We look at, like, you were in you were in kuwait this past december, and i believe this was the first time yourself and hes highness were with your gcc counterparts in many months and the meeting ended quite abruptly. Has there been and there is certainly since your visit here. Has there been any indications of you seeing any optimism on the road to a potential kind of resolution or dialogue, whether that be convened by President Trump or more specifically convened by kuwait or are we still at an impasse . Qatar remains calling for the dialogue and supporting the initiative of the amir of kuwait when he offered to mediate between the gulf countries and also accepted the invitation which was issued by the president for to call all the gcc members to camp david in order to see a solution for this. But when you have a conflict between parties and one of the parties is unwilling to engage in dialogue or unwilling to engage towards a solution, then this dialogue, even if it would in anything, it wont result in positive results because of the bad intention behind the willingness. The gcc summit was an opportunity what we believed in qatar that at least for the first time the leaders will see each other face to face. And we were surprised at the last moment that they have cancelled their attendance and downgraded their representation to the gcc meeting. So for us, we have done everything in our hands showing the good will towards the solution, but it needs a response from the other side, which is not there yet. And do you think that, like, just kind of the number of issues that are typically have been have been raised by your neighbors have been everything from from media to interference in qatars interference, they allege, in the neighbors Affairs Since 2014. That if there is a dialogue point, as you said, that it does not appear that there is much momentum or will on your partner on your neighbors side for such dialogue that do you see this as a potential opportunity that in light of President Trumps kind of first the phone call with the amir earlier this month and then potentially hosting a camp david style summit later in the spring. Would there be does this give a window to at least find an opportunity for doha to kind of to have a proactive window to to kind of find a way to bridge some of those differences or do you think that there is no real there is too much light . Well, we consider the meeting in itself and the leaders meeting together as at least a step towards success. But there should be driven from by their willingness. It cannot be driven by force. And we need the good intention. We need them to really prioritize what are the needs for this needless crisis, even the secretary of state has mentioned that this is unnecessary crisis being created out of this stable region. Any light can be can be seen at the end of the tunnel if we are agreeing on principles that all the countries are equal. There is no difference between the big and the small countries. All the countries enjoy the same rights. And are obliged to fulfill the same responsibilities. And new principles would govern this relationship between all the countries. We cannot go back before the 5th of june with the same nature of relationship. There is a lot of trust being lost throughout this crisis. And we hope that will be restored one day but needs a lot of time to be rebuilt again. And do you see kind of now looking at have you mentioned a mechanism for kind of a degree of monitoring and kind of accountability to rebuild those principles. Would do you think at the moment that the United States is that and with the secretary of state has been quite active in mediation that there is a moment for more enhanced u. S. Leadership in bringing the parties to the table for such a mechanism . Because it strikes me at times that, frankly, at much as the amir of kuwait has made many efforts, that those have not always been that received in riyadh and abu dhabi and there is a point, i think many kind of increasingly see it as a deadlock. To kind of break that, you see this as a potential opportunity for washington or for maybe doha to propose kind of a set of those principles to bring. Well, definitely the intervention of the United States will make a big difference. Especially when it comes from the highest level by the president himself. Who expressed his commitment to cnn for this crisis and he always calls for a united gulf country. Whenever he has a phone conversation or a meeting with the amir, he always stresses on the importance for the gulf countries to come back together. And what also we believe in that we need to start a just and fair process. And the secretary of state, who was visiting the region earlier, at the crisis, he started to propose some good proposals, which are can become a baseline for further negotiation. Qatar was very responsive to those proposals and we also we sent back our amendment and what we thought about, but the same thing, if its ignored by the other side, we cannot do anything, we cannot have any breakthrough without them. Kind of looking at the state of the u. S. Relationship, i think members there has certainly been criticism by members of congress to a letter to nikki haley about about the state of the of the mou. And certainly to agree that the mou is not public, but there has also been a view in some corners of congress and others that has the mou done enough . Has it gone far enough . I think the state department certainly has publicly been supportive of it, but for kind of a more for the broader American Public and those who were not part of those negotiations, like, is there any way to shed some light on what is the mou and where its headed . Is this a first step . Will there be additional steps taken to address issues on kind of on Terrorism Financing and the mechanisms . Well, first of all, to set the record clear, the mou, which was signed between qatar and the United States, was just part of the outcomes of the president s visit to the gcc and the meeting between qatar and the other gcc countries. Qatar, the first country which signed into this process, and this process objective is to bill capacity within the countries of the gcc starting a monetary mechanism to handle Terrorism Financing and also to develop the regulregulatory frar the charities work. The mou established very clear and very transparent plan, which is achieved by timeframe and by everything. And i believe that there are some of the members of the Congress Already being they have looked at it and they need they know the progress we have achieved in this and also there is a very clear and straightforward by the state department and other departments of the progress in the counterterrorism front and there is a clear statement that qatar and the United States are partners in the fight against tr and terror and we provided a lot in this fight. Its not even in the terror fighting front, but in the military aspect of it. Do you see them as at kind of the state will you do and say in six months say a Temperature Check on the progress that was made so far in the mou . Is there discussion to further enhance that or do you think that currently the steps that have been taken so far from both washington and doha to kind of address some of the issues that and certainly some have been largely raised in the media about kind of to address the from that step or is this a beginning framework or the mou is an ongoing process. Its not something which were which has just a milestone and then we will stop the cooperation. So there are some issues which can be translated to a milestone, can be achieved, but there are other issues which are continuous coordination which we already have with the United States. And we have like a periodic joint review between qatar and the United States, which is i think every three months. Im not so familiar with the timeframe of it, but so the u. S. And the qatari task force are meeting together and reviewing the progress and the everything is progressing very well. And some of the items are ahead of schedule already. I think its often been noted that qatar was the first country to sign an mou on that and there are still other gcc members that have not. Is the ideal is the ideal path to eventually try to interlink to getting kuwait, the uae, saudi to also agree to those similar standards or on those benchmarks to try to because its a it strikes me that a lot of the terrorism finance issues are, frankly, not just defined by borders but more kind of is a transregional challenge. Well, its a challenge everywhere, not only in qatar and not only in the gcc countries, but even elsewhere. The evolution of this phenomenon of the terrorism has been very rapid, especially in the last few years, so most of the legislations and the abilities within those countries couldnt keep up with this evolution. Regarding the gcc and the framework of the gcc and its relation with the mou, actually, it was part of our agreement as gcc countries along with the United States to enhance and develop our capabilities in terrorism in countering Terrorism Financing with the in partnership with the United States and each country should carry out this bilaterally. And qatar has started this right away after after the meeting. The other countries, they have to join and i dont know if whats their status until now. So looking at a few regional issues and then kind of open it some to the audience and one to kind of look at is iran has taken a strong position in support of qatar against saudi arabia and the uae. What are the larger implications of a stronger relationship with tehran . At the moment that well, first, we need to understand the geography of the region. If you look attica t qatars ma have one land border by saudi arabia and its being blockaded without even any notification before that. So it is the only way to supply the food and medicine and the other supplies for the country. From the eastern side, we have uae and we have this territorial water which we are sharing together and the sky the skies which are the territorial skies for the uae and the other side you have bahrain. Iran is the only path forward from the north. Qatar is sharing borders with iran, its sharing our largest gas field with iran, so for sure we will have this communication. After the blockade, the only way forward for our planes to and for our ships to bring the supplies for our people, the food supplies, the medicine supplies, its just via iran. We