Qatar

Qatar

Qatar or (officially: the State of Qatar), is an Arab country located in the east of the Arabian Peninsula in southwest Asia overlooking the Arabian Gulf with its capital Doha. It has a common land border from the south with Saudi Arabia and freely with the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Bahrain. Following Ottoman rule.

Qatar became a British protectorate in the early 20th century until it gained independence in 1971. The Al-Thani family has been ruled by Qatar since the mid-19th century, shortly after coming from Ashgir province in Najd.

Qatar is a constitutional hereditary emirate, and the ruler of the state is Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. The people overwhelmingly approved the constitution in a constitutional referendum, almost 98% in favor of the bill.

The total population in Qatar in 2013 was 1.8 million: the number of Qatari nationals is 300,000 and foreigners are 1.5 million. Qatar is the most conservative community after Saudi Arabia in the GCC.

Qatar is a high-income country supported by the world's third-largest natural gas and oil reserves. The United Nations classifies Qatar as a country with a very high human development as it is the most advanced Arab country in the field of human development. Qatar is the country with the highest per capita income in the world. Qatar is a key player in the Middle East. Qatar will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup and become the first Arab country to do so

The State of Qatar entered into a general maritime truce with the United Kingdom in 1968. A general treaty was concluded between the two on 3 November 1916. The General Treaty was a pledge of foreign policy and defense to the United Kingdom but allowed for internal independence. On September 3, 1971, "special treaty arrangements" which were "incompatible with full international responsibility as an independent sovereign state" were terminated. This was done under an agreement reached between the Ruler of Qatar and the Government of the United Kingdom.

In 1991, Qatar played an important role in the Second Gulf War, especially during the Battle of Khafji, where Qatari tanks entered the streets of the town and provided fire support to Saudi National Guard units that were engaged with Iraqi army forces. Qatar has allowed coalition forces from Canada to use the country as an air base to launch aircraft in combat air patrols and has allowed air forces from the United States and France to operate in its territory.

In 1995, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani took control of the country after his father Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani was ousted with the support of the armed forces and the cabinet, as well as neighboring countries and France.

Under Hamad, Qatar experienced a moderate degree of liberalization, including the launch of Al Jazeera in 1996, support for women's right to vote in municipal elections in 1999, drafting of its first written constitution in 2005 and the opening of the Roman Catholic Church in 2008. In 2010, Qatar won the right to host the FIFA World Cup. Foot 2022 making it the first country in the Middle East to be selected to host the tournament. The Emir announced Qatar's plans to hold its first national legislative elections in 2013. It was scheduled for June 2013 but was postponed until 2019.

In 2003, Qatar served as the headquarters of the US Central Command and one of the main launching sites for the invasion of Iraq. In March 2005, a suicide bombing killed a British teacher at the Doha Players' Theater, which stunned a country that had never seen terrorist acts. The bombing was carried out by Omar Ahmed Abdullah Ali, an Egyptian national in Qatar who was suspected of having links with AQAP.

In 2011, Qatar joined NATO operations in Libya and armed Libyan opposition groups. It is currently the main financier of the weapons of rebel groups in the Syrian civil war.

Qatar is seeking an Afghan peace deal and in January 2012 the Afghan Taliban said it was setting up a political office in Qatar to facilitate talks. This was done to facilitate peace negotiations with the support of other countries, including the United States and Afghanistan.

Through the Qatar office, Ahmed Rasheed told the Financial Times that "it facilitated meetings between the Taliban and many countries and organizations including the US State Department, the United Nations, Japan and many European governments and NGOs who were trying to push forward the idea of ​​peace talks."

He said the proposals made by the presidents of the United States and Afghanistan in September 2017 led to protests from senior US State Department officials.

In June 2013, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani became Emir of Qatar after his father handed him power in a television address. Tamim gave priority to improving the local welfare of citizens, which includes the establishment of advanced healthcare and education systems and the expansion of the country's infrastructure in preparation for the 2022 World Cup.

Qatar participated in the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen against the Houthis and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was ousted in the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

In June 2017, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Qatar, citing the country's alleged support for groups it considers extremist.

As a small country with larger neighbors, Qatar seeks to influence influence and protect its state and dynasty. The history of national alliances provides insight into the policy. Between 1760 and 1971, Qatar sought official protection from powerful states - the Ottomans, the British, the Al Khalifa of Bahrain, the Arabs, and the Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia. For some analysts, Qatar's role in international affairs can be defined as a medium power. Qatar was an early member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and a founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Qatar is a member of the League of Arab States. The country has not accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.

Qatar also has bilateral relations with a variety of foreign powers. Qatar hosts Al-Adeed Air Base, a joint US-British base that serves as a hub for all US and British air operations in the Persian Gulf. US and British forces were allowed to use an air base to send supplies to Iraq and Afghanistan. According to leaked documents published in the New York Times, Qatar's record in counterterrorism efforts is "the worst in the region." The document noted that Qatar's security apparatus "is reluctant to act against known terrorists because of their concern that they appear to be in line with the United States and provoke reprisals."

Qatar has different relations with its neighbors in the Arabian Gulf region. Qatar has signed a joint defense agreement with Iran, which shares the world's largest gas field. Qatar was the second country after France to publicly recognize the Libyan Transitional National Council for Libyan Revolutionary Forces as a legitimate government in Libya in the midst of the 2011 Libyan civil war.

In 2014, Qatar's relations with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reached a boiling point on Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood and extremist groups in Syria. The above three countries culminated in the withdrawal of their ambassadors from Qatar in March 2014.

In recent years, Qatar has used Islamist fighters in a number of countries, including Egypt, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Mali to promote its foreign policy. Fighting Islamists from the Muslim Brotherhood to Salafi groups has been a loudspeaker for the country, and since the beginning of the Arab Spring these groups are believed to represent the wave of the future. Qatar is a "concessionary authority to finance terrorism," said David Cohen, undersecretary of terrorism and financial intelligence at the US Treasury Department. There is evidence that these Qatar-backed groups include radical Islamic groups active in northern Syria. As of 2015, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are supportedSaudi Arabia and Turkey overtly the Fateh Army, a comprehensive group of anti-government forces fighting in the Syrian civil war, which is said to include al-Nusra Front, an al Qaeda-linked group and the Salafi Alliance known as the Ahrar al-Sham Islamic Movement.

Qatar backed democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi with diplomatic backing and state-owned Al Jazeera before he was ousted in a military coup. Qatar offered Egypt a $ 7.5 billion loan during the year it was in power.

Qatar's positions with Hamas, first published in early 2012, have been characterized by criticism from Israel, the United States, Egypt and Saudi Arabia "who accuse Qatar of undermining regional stability by supporting Hamas." From Qatar, she denied supporting Hamas and correcting their alleged claims, saying: "We do not support Hamas but we support the Palestinians." After a peace deal, Qatar pledged $ 1 billion in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Qatar hosted academic, religious, political and economic conferences. The 11th annual Doha Forum was recently attended by leading thinkers and professionals from different backgrounds and political figures from around the world to discuss democracy, media, information technology, free trade and water security issues. In addition, the Forum has participated in the Middle East Economic Future Conference since 2006. Recently, Qatar has hosted peace talks between rival factions around the world.Most notably the Darfur Agreement. The Doha Declaration is the foundation of the Darfur peace process and has made significant gains on the ground in the African region. Notable achievements included the restoration of security and stability, progress in construction and reconstruction, the return of displaced populations, the unification of the people of Darfur to meet the challenges and advance the peace process. Qatar has donated £ 88.5 million to fund recovery and reconstruction in Darfur.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen severed diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism and escalating the dispute over Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which is considered a terrorist organization by those five Arab countries. Saudi Arabia has made clear that this step will be a necessary measure to protect the security of the Kingdom. Qatari forces were also removed from the military alliance in Yemen. Egypt closed its airspace and ports on all Qatari transport.