The Community College of Qatar (CCQ), in collaboration with the US Embassy in Qatar, recently organized a special seminar titled ‘The Historical Relations Between the US and Qatar: Past, Present, and Future’, conducted by the Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires of the United States in Qatar His Excellency Mr. William Grant. The seminar was held within the sphere of developing CCQ students’ awareness of global interdependence and broadening their knowledge spectrum toward molding them into true world citizens.
The event was held at the College’s Lusail Campus, in the presence of CCQ President Dr. Mohamed Al-Naemi, Vice President Dr. Khalid Shams Al-Abdulqader, and the College Dean Dr. Abdallah Hazaimeh, alongside students, faculty and staff.
At the outset of the seminar, H.E. Mr. William Grant explained to the audience the United States’ approach to its foreign relations and its role in the Middle East, elaborating: “We take the approach that you don’t have to agree with us or our policies and positions. But we want to have the opportunity to explain our positions and not have you hear them from someone else that is maybe getting it wrong.”
The Chief of Mission then went on to talk about the long-standing relations between the US and Qatar, as well as the current state of affairs between the two countries, which H.E. described as ‘very very good’ and one that ‘gets a level of engagement that not every country in the world enjoys’. “We’ve had diplomatic relations with Qatar since the founding of the State in the 1970s and long-standing historical connections. Today, our strong and positive relationship certainly extends beyond military cooperation, and we have a regular senior-level discussion, so that we sync up on a range of issues”, H.E. pointed out.
The US Charge d' Affaires cited the 2nd Qatar-US Strategic Dialogue meeting, recently held in Doha, as an example of the broad-based cooperation and high level of engagement between the two nations. “Various agencies of the two governments came together and set the agenda for cooperation on a range of issues for the next 12 months. We signed some agreements and held meetings between our officials responsible for labor matters, culture, and even space. Other areas we’re also involved with are law enforcement, trade and investment, and security for the World Cup in 2022”, H.E. Mr. William Grant said.
Following H.E. Mr. William Grant’s talk attendees enriched the conversation with a number of important questions and inquiries. Taking center stage in the discussion was the dispute in the Gulf region, regarding which H.E. said: “The US wants to see this dispute resolved. In 2017, we made some efforts to try to get the parties to talk to each other. Obviously, that did not succeed. Our secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s message, when he came to Doha on January 13, was that the US has not disengaged from the region. And our message to all of (the countries involved) is that we want you to figure out what the problem is, and get back to a situation where there’s greater cooperation again.”
Other important questions tackled during the seminar involved the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, US policies in Iraq, the situation in Syria and Yemen, the US stance on Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, free speech, global warming, and the evolution of US foreign relations since the 1940s.
Concluding the event, H.E. Mr. William Grant said that he definitely sees a good opportunity for CCQ to expand its academic offerings to include a degree program in International relations, whose graduates can continue studying the subject matter in the United States, or join Qatari and American institutions that enjoy global reach. “You are going to have contact with foreign countries in all sorts of fields. It would be wise to develop young people who have good understanding of international affairs that goes beyond just diplomacy”, the US Chargé d’Affaires explained.
