Caught in the Iran War: Qatar’s PM on the Middle East “Earthquake”

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1:54Podcasts. Radio. News. Countries are either peacemakers or troublemakers or saboteurs or sitting back and doing nothing. The time is coming now that all countries need to step up responsibly and to stop the saboteurs, stop the troublemakers and work together collaboratively in delivering a real peace. A rare conversation with Qatar's Prime Minister on a year like no other in the Middle East. Do you think we are on the brink of another escalation in the region or are you working on something which gives you hope? Right now the situation is concerning. There is an ongoing effort. There are messages being shuttled between Iran and the United States.

2:43It needs a lot of patience. And unfortunately, the events that we are experiencing every day are affecting these efforts. From Bloomberg Weekend, this is The Michelle Hussain Show. I'm Michelle Hussain.

3:02It's not every day that you get a chance to sit down with a leader for an exclusive conversation in front of an audience, every word on the record, and for that to take place just as their country is grappling with its biggest crisis for years. That is the backdrop to the conversation you're about to hear with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdurrahman bin Jasim al-Thani. His country is one of the richest in the world per head of population. Its huge gas resources went out into the world through the Strait of Hormuz pretty uneventfully until the Iran war began. That's the moment that Qatar's world changed seven months ago.

3:47And unlike some of its neighbors, it doesn't have much in the way of alternative export routes. And so Sheikh Mohammed, Qatar's prime minister, has been grappling with economic fallout and trying to get Iran and the United States to stop this war. The curious thing is, Qatar has built itself a reputation for conflict mediation, not always without controversy because it's hosted offices for the Taliban and for Hamas. I don't think it could ever have imagined a war like this on its doorstep, where its peacemaking was so needed for its own future. A couple more things before we dive in. The Prime Minister and I spoke in New York in front of an audience at the Qatar Economic Forum, where he had just announced a new investment initiative.

4:41We do cover a lot of ground here, so as ever, you can read my notes to discover why I asked what I did, what I read before and after, and all the context beyond what was said on stage. There's a link to that in the show notes. At times, you will hear Sheikh Mohammed choose his words carefully, and there is something of a diplomatic dance. But at the same time, he doesn't shy away from the enormity of the crisis, describing what's happening in the Middle as an earthquake. And the conversation begins with me asking him to explain why he used that word. When you look at any earthquake that happens, it always tests three things.

5:28How strong is your foundation? How fast is your response? And how you are going to rebuild? If we think about it this way, we have tested our foundations in terms of security, in terms of supply chain, and it's proven that it's strong. Qatar has been through a lot of challenges. And every time we emerge out of this challenge is stronger. And whatever we have experienced during this war, and the uncertainty that it has, our pledge to our people is to become stronger and build stronger resilience for us and for our future. But I think it's clear, isn't it, that this earthquake is not over. And if you look at the story in numbers about how difficult this year has been, Qatar has suffered a collapse in oil and gas revenues.

6:20Are you looking at alternative export routes to the Strait of Hormuz? What are the chances of that? Your geography is more difficult than some of the other countries affected in the region. Of course. Well, look, when you look at Qatar and you look at its geography, it has its risks and has its benefits. We are blessed with abundance of resources. We have been a leading energy supplier, leading LNG supplier in the world. And what happened was a big disruption for us. What we have ensured from the beginning is to be very transparent with our people, with our partners, and with our customers. Yes, we went through a challenge, but it doesn't mean that this will affect our credibility or our reliability.

7:09And as soon as this issue is resolved, Qatar will fulfill its commitment. We should work together, collaboratively, together with our regional partners in order to make sure that what happened is not repeated. And by the way, if you look at, in general, what's happening right now, it's not only exclusive for our region. Now, what's really concerning for us, that what has been a red line to avoid targeting civilian facilities, schools, hospitals, bridges, power plants, energy facilities, became the new normal. And it's been deliberately crossed, not only in that conflict, but also elsewhere in the world.

7:59And the problem that the parties who are crossing these red lines are bragging about it. And there is a huge responsibility on the international community to stand up to these kind of violations. Otherwise, we will end up in a different world. Are you referring not only to Iran, but also to the United States and Israel? Well, I'm talking about any targeting for any civilian facilities should be prohibited, should be protected, and we should stand up for this. It's not only something that's affecting us in Qatar, but in any conflict, you are affecting directly the people. So then bring us right up to date on the situation as you see it now, because Qatar has played an important mediation role, whether it's between the US and Iran, or indeed between Hamas and Israel.

8:49But on the US and Iran, there are multiple concerning developments at the moment. In the region, we can see the Houthis attacking Saudi targets, including Riyadh. We can see the US State Department warning of the potential for escalation in the region. At the same time, a top Iranian official has said that Qatar has conveyed their proposal for some kind of agreement to the United States. So give us your reading of this moment. Is there peril as well as opportunity? Well, look, the situation, of course, it's deeply concerning, but also we need to look at it. Qatar is not a party of this war. This war has its reality.

9:28Iran is our neighbor. United States is our strategic ally, and Gulf is our natural security coalition. And basically what's happening right now is not only affecting the region, affecting Qatar or the region, but it has its impact on the global security. Our efforts has continued. Until now, we are trying to convey messages between the parties. But also, we need to acknowledge that this conflict is very complex. And unfortunately, the developments and the events that we are witnessing every day, they are very reactive events. And they are changing the course of the negotiations. They are changing the direction.

10:14There is no clear master strategy that we are following in order to put an end for this. And that's basically what we are missing today. I believe that all these indications and escalations, for example, to have the Houthis escalating now against the kingdom, this is like, you know, a very irresponsible act that's happening in this delicate time in the region to instigate more conflict and to create more inflammatory events, whether it's coming from the Houthis or in Iraq. All of us, we should stand up to these kind of attacks. But what would you warn everyone here? Do you think we are on the brink of another escalation in the region?

11:04Or are you working on something which gives you hope? We are doing everything we can. Right now, there is an ongoing effort. There are messages that's been shuttled between Iran and the United States. And of course, as I told you, it's complex. It needs a lot of patience. And unfortunately, what we are living every day and the events that we are experiencing every day are affecting these efforts. And sometimes are not really helping us in moving the process forward. Right now, the situation is concerning. We have been through in different periods in the past few months in a stalemate. And we have broken the stalemate and bring back things to track.

11:47And we are hoping that we are going to be able to bring back track things. So let's talk then about the initiatives that you're putting forward and the realities that you are grappling with. How does the idea of the Doha Investment Platform fit into this present day reality? I know that it is going to be the platform to manage the domestic investments of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, the QIA. But what is your ultimate ambition here? Well, actually, look, Doha investment idea has been in the make for almost the last couple of years. Qatar has been very successful in creating national champions who became a global player.

12:32Now, what we want to do and what we are aiming for in Doha Investment is to be the conduit and the launchpad for new national champions that becomes a global player. changing the approach by instead of just focusing on government-led investment, by bringing together the private sector investments together with the government investments and government support, and taking them from being local to become regional and hopefully international in the future. Does it mean that there is a shift towards more of those domestic assets in the portfolio and less of the international spending? It's not. Those are two tracks are going to work in parallel.

13:16QIA has continued and will continue to invest actively in the global market. QIA mission and mandate is to diversify the base of the revenue of the country. And it's a preservation for Qatar wealth for the next generation. And we wanted to make sure that what we are leaving behind us, we are leaving a legacy that the future generation will be able to live with the same standard and the same lifestyle that we have lived in. And part of that global investment has been significantly in AI in recent years. Qatar has been part of Anthropics financing rounds and also a significant investor in XAI. Is there any shift in thinking on AI?

14:05And I'm asking because King Charles has just convened a summit signaling his concern about the pace of development of the technology. And even its own leaders, Daria Amadei and Sam Altman, have signaled that they too have concerns about the pace of development. Well, look, actually, AI is the future. In Qatar, we believe that if we want to take part of this future, we need to be there at the very early stage. And we are working together with the companies. We are working together with our partners in order to make sure that also we are investing responsibly in responsible companies. And from a government perspective, we are looking at it as this is something new.

14:56A lot of governments have different views on that. Countries are talking about regulation of the frontier. Here countries are talking about deregulation of everything. Of course, AI is a new instrument that can be utilized in delivering good for the people and for humanity. And also it can be utilized in a bad way and being also destructive. Now we are at a point of time, I believe, where everyone starts to think about how the future will look like with AI. And I believe it is the right moment to think responsibly. In Qatar, we just established our national champion in AI, Kai, that will mainly focus and champion in creating the right mechanism and the right framework to ensure safety, security, and cultural preservation for our people.

15:54And do you think there is sufficient safety, sufficient guardrails right now? Until now, it's a work in progress. I'm not the expert in technology, but I can tell you that our people, this is one of their main focus, to make sure that what we are delivering for the people in Qatar is something safe and secure.

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18:11Has this also been a year where you've had to face unprecedented hard choices? what has been the domestic economic impact on government spending of the collapse in oil and gas revenues? It is a huge disruption for the economy. But when you look at it, this disruption is circumstantial, not a structural disruption. And we have built a strong foundation that's been put into test. and what matters and the priorities that's been achieved and delivered for the people. Now, when we look at Qatar example in itself, just look at Qatar historically. When back in the days before we start focusing on natural gas, everyone was saying, you are crazy, you will gain nothing out of this investment.

19:05We became the leading supplier of LNG in the world. When we bid for the World Cup, everyone was telling us, no one will give it to you, no one will award it to you. And when we've been awarded, everyone said that it will be a failure. We delivered an exceptional World Cup that the world is talking about until today. Qatar's story is about that. Qatar's story is turning impossible things to reality. And that's what we are looking for. When this challenge that we are living today creating this kind of disruption, the reality in the future will be much better for our people. In each and every crisis, Qatar has emerged stronger and we have proven that to our people and to the world.

19:56And hopefully this disruption, we will pass through it, we will emerge stronger, and there will be a new era for Qatar. We strongly believe in that. We are focusing on building the strong foundation for the next phase of Qatar. But has there been had to be government spending cuts to the level of about 30 percent? Actually, there are some misleading facts in this. The cut in spending, which was necessary, that was on operational expenditure, wasn't on capital projects. So what we've been doing, we are trying to focus how efficiently we can manage our budgets throughout these circumstances. And of course, any crisis also represents an opportunity.

20:45When you look at governments, in each and every government, there is a lot of fat that needs to be cut. And every time you have such a crisis, we need to use this opportunity to cut this fat and to also focus our investments on things that matters for the country and for the people. So, Prime Minister, in our remaining time, let's think globally again. And you personally, as well as Qatar, have become well known for mediation. I already mentioned U.S., Iran, Hamas, Israel, but also Venezuela, some of the lesser known relationships. in which you've played a part, you helped bring about the ceasefire in Gaza.

21:25That's a nominal ceasefire. There are still Palestinians being killed every day. There is mass hardship, mass displacement of people. How and when do you envisage a change in the situation of the Palestinians? Well, this is actually a question has been ongoing for a very long time. Now, what Qatar has been doing and trying to do is to be able to facilitate for peace talks and to mediate between conflicting parties and to keep our channels always open and use it whenever it's needed. And it's proven that this is a very effective way. People in many parts of the world, sometimes they don't like these kind of connections and we are not asking them to like it, but we are asking them to understand it and to see the benefits of these connections, how, when they are being put into use.

22:25Now, there is a lot about the peace process and mediation. And when I was mentioning in the speech, the supply chain for peace, peace is not about only mediation and bringing the two parties together and maybe they celebrate an agreement and then nothing is falling through. And we are seeing some examples also right now in Gaza. And unfortunately, we are dealing with an event that there is a party who is reckless and who is not standing up to his commitment, keep killing, keep preventing the humanitarian aid from entering, and the world is not doing much about it. Do you mean the Israeli government?

23:07Yeah, of course. I mean, it's very clear that the commitments that's been stated in the agreement are not fulfilled yet. And we are calling the Israeli government to fulfill their commitment. But there is an important issue in that. But when you look at peace, as I mentioned, in our world, countries are either peacemakers, either troublemakers, or saboteurs, or those countries who are sitting back and doing nothing. What we are seeing now, that when any conflict is happening, only the mediation is the main focus without taking consideration what's required in terms of a humanitarian, what's required in terms of security to be provided, what's required in terms of follow-up and accountability after those peace agreements.

24:08And I think the time is coming now that all countries need to step up to step up responsibly and to stop the saboteurs, to stop the troublemakers and work together collaboratively and delivering a real peace. Qatar has worked within that approach in the last few years, not being the sole mediator for any conflict, but bringing together a group of countries, a group of partners in order to deliver this comprehensive solution. Unfortunately, we are still lacking more countries that need to contribute and need to step up to be effective partners in making better peace and lasting peace. For the Palestinian issue, it will never be resolved as long as the policies adopted within the current Israeli government is in this way.

25:02What's happening in Gaza is one thing, in the West Bank is another thing. And we have seen violations happening by violating the sovereignty of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq. and this cannot continue forever. Is Iran a troublemaker? Well, with what we have seen and what they have created for the region and as a response to the American-Israeli war with them in the region, that's appeared very clearly that they are not a peacemaker. And is the effect of this on you that you might be considering joining the new Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan defense pact, what they are putting forward as a version of NATO, if you like?

25:48Is Qatar attracted by being part of that? Well, look, when you look at the security situation of the region and you see all this turbulence that we are going through, we are glad to see that the region is coming together. And by the way, just let me clarify something here. When you ask me a question about Iran as Iran a troublemaker, We are talking about a conflict here that specifically the trouble that Iran made for the Gulf. And I have to be clear on this. Iran is our neighbor. We need to understand that without having a security framework that brings us all together as Gulf countries with Iran, ensuring that none of us is posing a threat on the other, This region will not just be continuing in the same way as it used to be.

26:42We have to act together responsibly as a region and to make sure that we are having a good relation with Iran and Iran has a good relation with the Gulf countries. And we are working toward that. Our regional partners believe in this. And we are hoping that this war is a wake-up call for everyone, that it's time for it to happen. Finally, Prime Minister, we are speaking in the United States. I do want to ask you about your relationship with the United States. Very important, clearly, a long-term strategic relationship. Last year, there was the gift of a plane. There was also a security guarantee that you received from President Trump.

27:22But at the same time, it is clear that the war begun by President Trump earlier this year has had an immense impact on your country. So where do things stand now? Is the U.S. still the partner you imagined this time last year? The U.S. will always be our strategic ally, and that's what I keep repeating. Yes, sometimes we try our best to convey our view on any policy that the U.S. is having in the Middle East. Sometimes they listen to us. Sometimes they take the different opinion. But it doesn't mean that this will compromise our partnership with them. Our partnership has been built based on institutional relationship between all institutions, between the U.S.

28:09and Qatar. And this institutional relationship has protected throughout the last decades the relationship between the two countries. We believe that our alliance is solid and nothing is going to break it. and we are working together very closely in order to put an end for this conflict. And we hope that this conflict didn't start from the beginning, but unfortunately things have happened already. Does the U.S. base in Qatar, the largest U.S. base in the region, does it have a future? Would you like it to remain? Well, of course, our defense partnership is one of the key cornerstones of our relationship between the two countries.

28:50our military and working together with the U.S. military. Our equipment is American equipment, and we continue doing our joint training. We will continue having a strong relation with the U.S. and the U.S. military. And of course, it's a two-ways partnership. It's never a one-way partnership. And the impact on you in this year, I mean, you are the person fielding a lot of these phone calls trying to bring people together. I imagine it's been a year like no other in your life. Is that correct? Well, actually, I didn't have peace since the World Cup. So, I mean, October 7th followed. And since that, no one is willing to give us a break.

29:34How different a position do you hope we are in by this time next year or by the time Qatar Economic Forum takes place next in Doha? Well, I'm begging everyone that we need a peaceful year for 27. Please, we need some rush. Inshallah. Thank you. Prime Minister, thank you very much. Thank you very much.