UPDATE - Qatari emir hails Trump’s ‘historic’ visit, signals deeper bilateral ties

UPDATES WITH MORE QUOTES FROM QATARI EMIR, ADDS BACKGROUND

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani hailed US President Donald Trump’s visit to Doha on Wednesday as “historic,” affirming that it marks a turning point in the strategic relationship between the two countries.

“We had a couple of hours of a great meeting with the president, and we discussed many issues on our great bilateral relationship and the situation in the region,” he said during the signing ceremony of several agreements between the two countries.

“I think after signing these documents, we are going to another level of relationship between Qatar and the US.”

The two countries signed a host of key agreements in different fields, particularly in the defense and aviation sectors.

In the aviation field, Qatar finalized a major agreement of over $200 billion to purchase jets from US manufacturer Boeing.

On defense, the two sides signed a statement of intent on enhanced defense cooperation, alongside letters of offer and acceptance for the acquisition of MQ-9B unmanned aerial vehicles and the FS-LIDS air defense system.

A joint declaration of cooperation was also signed between the two countries.

“I just wanted to thank you, Mr. President, again for this historic visit,” Sheikh Tamim said.

Earlier, the Qatari emir said his country is working with US President Donald Trump to promote peace.

“We can continue to work together to bring peace to our region or other regions, such as peace between Russia and Ukraine,” Tamim said during his meeting with Trump in Doha.

Trump’s visit to Doha is part of a Gulf tour that began on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, and is scheduled to conclude Friday in the United Arab Emirates.

His visit to Qatar is the first by a US president to the Gulf country since George W. Bush’s trip in 2003.