Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lolwa Al Khater warned Wednesday that the ongoing GCC crisis undermines the Gulf Cooperation Council and makes human rights violations the status quo. Al Khater said in an interview with The New Arab newspaper, held to mark the 2nd anniversary of the Qatar blockade and the GCC crisis, that the goal of prolonging the blockade on Qatar is to damage its economy and its developmental projects.

She added that the blockading countries failed in achieving their goal despite their relentless efforts. She stressed that Qatar does not want to sever ties, as the GCC region is bound by strong family ties that can't be severed even with the ongoing crisis. She said that the State of Qatar still has many diverse options. She said that the country is evaluating its strategy in order not to rely on the blockading countries, even if ties are restored. She said that the GCC crisis showed the struggle of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which should have been the key player in resolving crises.

She noted that the country has always welcomed any constructive dialogue that is based on the principle of respecting sovereignty. Al Khater stressed that the stubbornness of the blockading countries and their inability to roll back the measures they took against the State of Qatar played a part in obstructing the Kuwaiti mediation efforts. She noted that the blockading countries have been looking to normalize the current situation by taking a number of unfair measures against Qatari citizens, in violation of international law. She noted that despite that, the region's people proved how strong the societal ties are. She stressed that when it came to military and security-related meetings that take place regionally and internationally, the State of Qatar remained committed to cooperation.

On the Kuwaiti mediation efforts, Al Khater expressed appreciation of the efforts of HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah. She noted that the Kuwaiti mediation efforts never stopped, and that Kuwait is doing all it can to resolve the crisis. On the U.S. efforts to resolve the crisis, Her Excellency noted that both the U.S. and the State of Qatar believe that elongating the crisis would undermine joint interests and security in the region. She noted that the U.S. has called on all parties to resolve the issue, something that Qatar responded to.

She also noted that the U.S. called for keeping families together and allowing citizens their right of performing Umrah and Haj, something that was met with further stubbornness by the blockading countries. On the Arab NATO, she said that it is rarely mentioned now even though Washington led those efforts. She noted that some parties were not as enthusiastic to the idea, which was made clear when Egypt withdrew from the Riyadh meeting on the Arab NATO.

On the regional developments and the escalation of the threat in the Gulf region and the possibility that this would lead the blockade countries to reconsider its decision to refuse to sit around the dialogue table, HE Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lolwa Al Khater, affirmed that Qatar is committed to the principle of non-infringement of state sovereignty, and of imposing any kind of dictates, noting that the choice of the State of Qatar since the beginning of the crisis, is a dialogue without preconditions. With regards to the current developments, she said that the State of Qatar is in contact with all parties to calm down and stop any possible escalation, because the region cannot tolerate any tension, so defusing tensions and bringing together views and working towards logical and diplomatic solutions, which it said would be the best solution for the time being.

On her vision of the State of Qatar after two years of the Gulf crisis and the position of the blockade countries today, HE Al Khater said that the State of Qatar continues to move forward and work in full swing in the implementation of its projects, whether the World Cup projects or other projects, and the Gulf crisis has been, and continues to be, a test of Qatar's strength in dealing with crises, and Qatar succeeded to overcome the consequences of the crisis. HE Al Khater noted that the State of Qatar today is witnessing a high self-sufficiency in food production, and the projects of the State of Qatar and its development plans were not affected, and succeeded in supplying all the necessary materials that were imported from the countries of the blockade. Her Excellency added that despite the attempts of the blockade countries to distort Qatar's hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2022, but the projects and plans for the World Cup are on time, and often ahead of schedule, for example, Khalifa International Stadium was inaugurated in May 2017, five years ahead of schedule, and Qatar inaugurated Al Janoub Stadium, a World Cup stadium, on May 16, 2019, with a capacity of 40 000 people.

Her Excellency underlined that after two years of the crisis Qatar remains one of the largest exporters of LNG, and the world's second-largest source of helium gas, and according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), real GDP growth in 2019 is expected to grow by 3.1 percent with strong growth in the non-hydrocarbon sector. Her Excellency noted that the World Bank reports demonstrate that Qatar is the first Gulf country in GDP growth in 2018, and the non-oil economic sector grew by 5 percent in the first half of 2018, in addition to the low level of unemployment, by 0.1 percent for the total workforce and only 1.8 percent for women. Her Excellency added that Qatar launched the first metro line in Doha last May, and has made many changes in legislation and laws, for example, the reforms in the labor law, the law on property and Investment, and the Law of permanent residence. Qatar also introduced the political asylum law this year, the first of its kind in the region. As for the position of the blockade countries, Her Excellency expressed regret that the blockading countries continued their escalation at various levels even during Ramadan, pointing out that they did not hesitate to politicize this month through media to spread division.

Source: QNA

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Leena Chung

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