Qatar’s emir heads to Berlin for talks aimed at boosting economic ties

Qatar’s emir heads to Berlin for talks aimed at boosting economic ties
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Meseberg Castle in Berlin. (File/Reuters)
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Updated 22 October 2024
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Qatar’s emir heads to Berlin for talks aimed at boosting economic ties

Qatar’s emir heads to Berlin for talks aimed at boosting economic ties
  • Germany seeks alternative energy sources post-Ukraine invasion
  • Qatar has emerged as a mediator in regional conflicts

BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will host Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, at a baroque palace just north of Berlin on Tuesday for talks aimed at deepening economic and diplomatic ties.
The energy-rich Gulf Arab state has increasingly become a strategic partner for Germany since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine forced Berlin to seek alternative sources of energy to Russian gas.
Qatar is also a key investor in the German economy, which could benefit from fresh funds as it faces its second consecutive year of contraction. One potential investment under discussion is Qatar’s possible purchase of a stake in Berlin’s main refinery, Schwedt, from Russia’s Rosneft.
Qatar has emerged as an important mediator in the Middle East, notably between Hamas and Israel. It played a role in the deportation of some Afghans from Germany. Global security issues are also on the agenda of talks, according to the German government.
“Germany has understood that the Gulf states have become a partner of necessity rather than a partner of choice,” said Sebastian Sons, a researcher at the Bonn-based Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient.
For Qatar, the partnership represents an opportunity to position itself as an essential global player, building alliances that provide protection and influence.
Scholz will host the emir at Meseberg Castle, with a meeting focused on deepening bilateral ties in energy, trade, and regional security, according to the chancellery.
Qatari Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi will accompany the emir, as will Mansoor Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, the head of Qatar Investment Authority, which has over the past 15 years built up stakes in major German companies including Deutsche Bank , RWE and Volkswagen.
A turning point in bilateral relations was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Later that same year, Qatar reached a deal to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Germany starting in 2026, with the agreement spanning at least 15 years.


Iraqi Kurdistan can start oil flows within days on Turkish approval, minister says

Iraqi Kurdistan can start oil flows within days on Turkish approval, minister says
Updated 6 sec ago
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Iraqi Kurdistan can start oil flows within days on Turkish approval, minister says

Iraqi Kurdistan can start oil flows within days on Turkish approval, minister says
  • Iraqi Kurdistan authorities have agreed with the federal oil ministry to restart Kurdish crude exports based on available volumes
  • A speedy resumption of exports from semi-autonomous Kurdistan region would help to offset a potential fall in Iranian oil exports
BAGHDAD: Iraq is waiting for Turkiye’s approval to restart the oil flows from the Iraqi Kurdistan region, the Iraqi oil minister said on Monday, adding that Kurdish oil exports will hopefully be ready in two days.
Asked if resuming Kurdish oil exports will affect Iraq’s OPEC compliance, Hayan Abdel-Ghani told reporters that Baghdad is committed to the OPEC+ decisions and exported volumes under the control of the Iraqi oil ministry.
Iraqi Kurdistan authorities have agreed with the federal oil ministry to restart Kurdish crude exports based on available volumes, Kurdistan’s regional government said on Sunday.
The pipeline was halted by Turkiye in March 2023 after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorized exports between 2014 and 2018.
US President Donald Trump’s administration is putting pressure on Iraq to allow Kurdish oil exports to restart or face sanctions alongside Iran, sources have told Reuters. An Iraqi official later denied pressure or the threat of sanctions.
A speedy resumption of exports from Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region would help to offset a potential fall in Iranian oil exports, which Washington has pledged to cut to zero as part of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.
Asked if the northern oil exports through neighboring Turkiye’s Ceyhan port will include crude oil produced from Iraq’s Kirkuk fields, Hayan Abdel-Ghani told reporters: “Production from Kirkuk fields will be for local use.”

EU suspends sanctions on key Syria economic sectors

EU suspends sanctions on key Syria economic sectors
Updated 5 min 32 sec ago
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EU suspends sanctions on key Syria economic sectors

EU suspends sanctions on key Syria economic sectors
  • Sanctions relief in bid to help the country’s reconstruction after the fall of Bashar Assad

BRUSSELS: The European Union on Monday eased sanctions on Syria’s energy, transport and banking sectors in a bid to help the country’s reconstruction after the fall of Bashar Assad.
“The EU aims to facilitate engagement with Syria, its people, and businesses, in key areas of energy and transport, as well as to facilitate financial and banking transactions associated with such sectors and those needed for humanitarian and reconstruction purposes,” the bloc said in a statement.


UN chief ‘gravely concerned’ at Israeli settler violence in West Bank

UN chief ‘gravely concerned’ at Israeli settler violence in West Bank
Updated 24 February 2025
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UN chief ‘gravely concerned’ at Israeli settler violence in West Bank

UN chief ‘gravely concerned’ at Israeli settler violence in West Bank
  • Israel earlier announced expanded military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory

GENEVA: The UN chief voiced alarm Monday at rising violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and calls for annexation after Israel announced expanded military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory.
“I am gravely concerned by the rising violence in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers and other violations, as well as calls for annexation,” Antonio Guterres told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.


10th pro-Kurdish party mayor removed in eastern Turkiye

10th pro-Kurdish party mayor removed in eastern Turkiye
Updated 24 February 2025
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10th pro-Kurdish party mayor removed in eastern Turkiye

10th pro-Kurdish party mayor removed in eastern Turkiye

ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s interior ministry announced on Monday the removal of a 10th pro-Kurdish party mayor in eastern Turkiye in less than a year for alleged ties.
The development targeting a mayor of DEM party — the third largest political group in the parliament — comes as the party leads negotiations with jailed leader of outlawed Kurdish militants Abdullah Ocalan to end the four-decade conflict.
“Mehmet Alkan, mayor of the Kagizman district in the province of Kars, has been temporarily suspended from his duties by the interior ministry because he was sentenced to six years and three months in jail on charges of membership of an armed terror group,” the interior ministry said in a statement.
The DEM condemned the action as part of the ruling Justice and Development (AKP) Party’s “war against the people’s right to vote and to be elected,” in a message on X.
Ankara has stepped up the pressure on pro-Kurdish movements and sympathizers accused of “terrorism,” even as it pursues talks with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) listed as a terror group by Turkiye and much of the international community.
The PKK has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 that has left more than 40,000 people dead.


Syria’s foreign minister to visit Turkiye on Monday, two sources say

Syria’s foreign minister to visit Turkiye on Monday, two sources say
Updated 24 February 2025
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Syria’s foreign minister to visit Turkiye on Monday, two sources say

Syria’s foreign minister to visit Turkiye on Monday, two sources say

ISTANBUL: Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani will visit Ankara on Monday for talks with Turkish officials, two sources familiar with the plan told Reuters.
The visit coincides with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov holding talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in the Turkish capital.