US CENTCOM chief holds talks in Qatar to strengthen defense, military cooperation

By Hussien Elkabany and Rania Abu Shamala

CAIRO/ ISTANBUL (AA) – The commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, held talks with Qatari officials in Doha on Tuesday to discuss strengthening defense and military cooperation between the US and Qatar.

Cooper held two separate meetings with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Minister of State for Defense Affairs Saoud bin Abdulrahman.

A Foreign Ministry readout said the meeting between bin Abdulrahman and Cooper discussed “the close strategic relations between the State of Qatar and the United States and ways to support and strengthen them, particularly in the areas of military and defense cooperation, in addition to a number of topics of common interest.”

The Qatari Defense Ministry also said the minister of state for defense affairs discussed with Cooper “topics of mutual interest and ways to enhance and develop them.”

According to an Anadolu review of official information published by the Qatari state news agency QNA, Cooper previously met the Qatari premier on Nov. 3 and Sept. 13, and with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Aug. 31.

In October, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order affirming that any armed attack on the Qatari territory or its critical infrastructure is considered a threat to the peace and security of the US.

The order came three weeks after an Israeli airstrike targeting Hamas negotiators in the Qatari capital.