Qatar emir starts Asia tour amid Gulf rift

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, arrived today in Malaysia in a two-day visit as part of an official tour to a number of Asian countries, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported. The visit came following an invitation from Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia Agong, Sultan Muhammad V.

QNA added that Al-Thani is accompanied by a business delegation and cabinet members.

The visit is the first to be made by the Qatari emir since the last state visit which was made by his father, Sheikh Hamad Khalifa Al-Thani, in May 2009.

Al-Thani’s tour, which commenced today, will include a visit to Singapore and Indonesia.

During the tour, the Qatari emir will hold talks with the Asian countries’ leaders and senior officials on strengthening bilateral relations, particularly in the fields of energy, the economy and investment. He will also discuss ways to develop cooperation between Qatar and the Asian countries, as well as a number of issues of common interest.

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The tour will also witness the signing of a number of multi-sectoral trade and investment agreements between the two sides.

This is the second foreign tour to be carried out by the Qatari emir in less than a month since the outbreak of the Gulf crisis in June. In September, he conducted a tour to Europe, during which he visited several European countries including Turkey.

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On 5 June, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar accusing it of supporting terrorism. Qatar has been reputedly denying the charges.

Kuwait has been leading mediation efforts to heal the rift but has been unable to achieve a breakthrough.

Several concerns were raised by the Middle East leaders over the impact of the rift on the upcoming planned Gulf summit. Last month, Qatar’s emir renewed a call “for an unconditional dialogue based on mutual respect for sovereignty.”