United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expressed on Tuesday Washington’s willingness to further develop intelligence exchange revolving around terror cases and suspects with Doha, Qatar.
Tillerson and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis co-hosted at the Department of State the High-Level Opening Session of the Inaugural US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue with their Qatari counterparts, namely, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Defense Minister Khalid bin Muhammad al-Atiyah.
Defense Secretary Mattis stressed on the importance of a stable and strong Gulf to counter what he labeled a “malign” Iranian influence and other forces of terrorism.
The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, cut off travel and trade ties with Qatar last June, accusing it of supporting terrorism.
During the strategic dialogue, Tillerson highlighted many important issues which will be discussed with Doha, including investment, security, counter-terrorism, energy and aviation.
More so, both the US and Qatari officials signed three memorandums of understanding on security cooperation and other issues. Tillerson and al-Thani also welcomed progress toward resolving a dispute over civil aviation.
State-owned Qatar Airways has agreed to release detailed financial statements, the US government said on Tuesday, as part of a response to accusations by US airlines that the carrier had been illegally subsidized by its government.
It is worth noting that Qatar is host to US and international forces at Al Udeid Air Base, which is home to the Combined Air Operations Center. The center coordinates an array of data and intelligence from satellites, drones, radar and US planes flying over hot spots in the Middle East and bombing
