Old friends are back • Chapter summary
Qatar is one of the smallest states in the Middle East with a total population of around 2.8 million people, of which less than 300,000 are Qatari nationals. It is also one of the wealthiest nations in the world, with a GDP per capita of USD 62,088 in 2019, according to the World Bank. Despite Qatar’s small size, the country’s global presence is considerable, with an extensive network of embassies abroad, strategic investments all over the world, and the position of key supplier of LNG to some major economies.
When Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt abruptly severed ties with Qatar in June 2017, Qatar countered by launching a hugely successful self-sustainability campaign and establishing high-level contacts beyond the Gulf, with countries such as the US, France, the UK, Japan, countries in the Caucasus, and non-hostile Arab and Muslim countries in North Africa and the Middle East.
Qatar’s recent diplomatic agenda has been marked by the lifting of the blockade, which, after the deft mediation of neutral countries Kuwait and Oman, was committed to paper in the historic Al Ula Declaration, attended by the Amir of Qatar, the Saudi Crown Prince, the Amir of Kuwait, the Vice President of UAE, the Crown Prince of Bahrain, the Deputy Prime Minister of Oman, and the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council. However, it remains to be seen if the resumption of diplomatic relations between Qatar and the blockading quartet means a reorientation of Qatar to the region or the continuation of a more global foreign policy.
The next step for Qatar on the global stage could be its support for the resumption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran, whom Qatar shares the world’s largest natural gas field, the North Field. In a note released by the Qatari MoFA, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani met with the ambassadors from the UK, Germany, and France, which are parties to JCPOA, in order to “discuss the latest developments in restoring the diplomatic track and activating dialogue.”