The President:
Well, I just want to welcome the
Amir of Qatar and thank him and
the people of his country for
the friendship they've shown
toward the United States.
There's an excellent
relationship between the
United States and Qatar on a
whole range of levels -- with
respect to security, with
respect to our military
cooperation, our
commerce and our trade.
Qatar has been a
center of innovation.
We've seen enormous progress
within the country on everything
ranging from education
to health care.
And I think His Highness has
shown extraordinary leadership
over the last many years in
helping to guide this country.
Obviously, Qatar is also an
important country in the region,
and has an influence that
extends beyond its relatively
small population.
And so we had an opportunity to
discuss a whole range of issues
that directly relate to U.S.
interests and U.S. security,
but, more importantly, the
security of the entire world.
We had a conversation about
the situation in Syria.
And obviously we've been
cooperating closely with Qatar
and other countries in seeking
to bring about an end to the
slaughter that's
taking place there;
the removal of President Assad,
who has shown himself to have no
regard for his own people; and
to strengthen an opposition that
can bring about a democratic
Syria that represents all people
and respects their rights
regardless of their ethnicity
or their religious affiliations.
And I'm very pleased that we are
going to be continuing to work
in the coming months to try to
further support the Syrian
opposition, and we'll be closely
coordinating our strategies to
bring about a more peaceful
resolution to the Syrian crisis.
We also had an opportunity to
discuss the situation in Egypt,
where we both very much want
to see success on the part of
Egyptian democracy.
And both of our countries are
committed to trying to encourage
not only progress in
this new democracy,
but also economic progress
that can translate into actual
prosperity for the people there.
We had an opportunity to discuss
the situation with respect to
the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, and we both agree
that peace is in the interest
of everyone -- a secure Israel
side-by-side with a
sovereign Palestinian state.
And we exchanged ideas about
how we can advance those
negotiations, and I've shared
the importance of providing
support to President Abbas and
the Palestinian Authority so
that they can be in position to
have fruitful negotiations with
the Israelis that can bring
about, in a timely fashion,
a two-state solution.
And I had an opportunity to
thank the Amir for the strong
support that his country has
provided to our efforts in
Afghanistan, including the
efforts that he has personally
been involved with in getting
a dialogue between the Afghan
government and the Taliban that
might potentially result in some
sort of political
reconciliation.
These are all very difficult
issues and neither of us are
under any illusions that they
will be solved overnight.
But what we agree with is
that if our two countries
are communicating frankly
and constructively,
and pursuing common strategies,
that we can be a force for good
for the entire region and for
a vision of a Middle East that
is democratic, that is
prosperous, that is tolerant,
that is representative
of all peoples,
and that is a force for
good around the world.
And so I want to thank
the Amir for this visit
and for his friendship.
And I look forward to working
with him and the government of
Qatar for many years to come.
(cameras snapping)
Amir Hamad:
(speaking in Arabic)
(as interpreted in English)
I was delighted to have this
very positive meeting with
the President today.
We discussed several issues
of mutual concern to both our
countries, especially
the situation in Syria.
We also addressed issues
concerning our mutual military
relationship, which
is good, as you know,
and also exchanges in education.
As you know, there are
several universities,
American universities that
opened branches in Qatar.
We also discussed our
economic relationship.
There are joint oil and
gas projects between the
two countries.
We also talked about the serious
changes that are affecting the
Middle East, especially
countries like Egypt,
which we consider to be
a very important country,
and also important
for peace with Israel.
And for Qatar, it's very
important for us to see
peace between Israel
and the Palestinians,
and to see also a good
relationship between Arab
countries and Israel once
a Palestinian-Israeli peace
agreement is reached.
Amir Hamad:
(speaking in English)
Actually, she meant by gas and
oil that we will talk with
the President, but we have
a relation between us and
America to be with American
companies like ExxonMobil --
enjoy working with us in the
sector of the hydrocarbon.
The other thing is
the Syrian issue.
As you know -
(speaking in Arabic)
(as interpreted in English)
We also discussed
the Syrian issue.
What's happening in
Syria is a major,
horrific tragedy in the
region and the world.
And we hope to find a solution
for the bloodshed in Syria and
for this current government
to leave power to give room
to others to take over.
And we hope that any party that
succeeds the current regime
would be supportive of democracy
and the political process.
(speaking in Arabic)
(as interpreted in English)
We in Qatar support the peace
process and finding a political
peace, and Qatar supports that.
And we once again would
like to thank the President.
(cameras snapping)
The President:
Thank you, everybody.
