Gaza truce talks loom large as Qatar's PM visits US

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Mar 5, 2024

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani greets Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) in the Treaty Room of the State Department on March 5, 2024 in Washington, DC. — Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani greets Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) in the Treaty Room of the State Department on March 5, 2024, in Washington, DC. — Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — The Qatari prime minister will use a trip to the United States to reaffirm the close ties between the two countries at a time when the Gaza war has bolstered Doha’s reputation as a regional mediator but prompted some criticism in Washington over its engagement with Hamas.

In meetings Tuesday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other US officials, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani will discuss a slew of shared priorities ranging from economic and security cooperation to emerging technologies. Discussions over a temporary cease-fire in Gaza are also expected to figure prominently during the Qatari premier’s visit to Washington, his second in less than two months.

Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the United States has relied on Qatar and Egypt to do what it cannot: talk to both sides in a conflict that's killed an estimated 30,000 people, most of them women and children, and displaced a majority of Gaza's already impoverished population.

Qatar frequently serves as an intermediary for the United States and its adversaries, including Russia and Iran as well as regional Islamist movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood and the Taliban. Over the past year, Qatari negotiators helped secure the release of US nationals wrongfully held in Iran, Afghanistan, Rwanda and Venezuela.