Qatar
says World Cup on track despite boycott as supply lines fixed
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[January 25, 2018]
By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Yara Bayoumy
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Qatar is
confident that it can host a successful World Cup in 2022 and
preparations are fully on track after a boycott by its Gulf
neighbors briefly disrupted supply lines last year, its foreign
minister told Reuters.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also deputy prime
minister, said Qatar's economy was now growing much faster than
anticipated and the major gas exporter was well prepared to
withstand the crisis in relations with its neighbors.
He also said Qatar still counted on strong support from U.S.
President Donald Trump to help solve the crisis and had filed legal
complaints with Western regulators against what it sees as currency
and market manipulations by its neighbors.
"We are confident we will host the best World Cup in the Arab world.
It will represent the whole Arab region," Sheikh Mohammed said in an
interview during the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"The government has already overcome the disruptions which happened
to supplies at the beginning of the crisis and we have introduced
alternative routes. There is no disruption at the moment," he said,
adding he had heard no signals from FIFA that it was planning to
change the venue of the World Cup.
FIFA has made no suggestion that either Russia or Qatar should lose
the right to stage tournaments in 2018 or 2022 respectively, despite
publishing a report last year detailing numerous attempts to
influence voting officials.
The diplomatic crisis, in which Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United
Arab Emirates and Egypt have boycotted Qatar, erupted last summer
when the four countries cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties
with Qatar, accusing it of financing terrorism.
Riyadh also accuses Qatar of cosying up to the kingdom's arch-rival
Iran. Qatar rejects the charges and says it is being punished for
straying from its neighbors’ backing for authoritarian rulers.
The World Cup is the centerpiece of Qatar's strategy to project
itself on the global stage.
The soccer tournament was dragged into the Gulf crisis last year
when the UAE said Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup should depend on
it rejecting "extremism and terrorism".
SECURITY UNDERMINED
Sheikh Mohammed said the crisis was negatively affecting security
coordination across the entire Gulf region.
"This undermines our collective effort in combating terrorism. Our
officers are not allowed to go to the (U.S.) Fifth Fleet, their
(Saudi and UAE) officers' seats are vacant in Doha while their flags
are there," he said, referring to the U.S. Navy in the Gulf and the
U.S. base near Doha.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia have both been among the closest allies of
the United States but all attempts by Washington to help solve the
crisis have so far failed.
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Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al
Thani in Doha, Qatar October 22, 2017. REUTERS/Alex Brandon/Pool

"When President Trump spoke to the Emir (of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad Al Thani) last week he stressed this point and he said that he
wants to help in solving the crisis".
"But when one of the parties is unwilling to engage... then it will
be difficult," said Sheikh Mohammed.
Qatar filed a complaint to the United Nations about an alleged
violation of its airspace in December by an Emirati military
aircraft.
Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar's central bank had also filed legal
complaints with Western regulators regarding alleged manipulations
of its currency.
"The information we had that there is something wrong being
committed within our financial markets and these complaints are
taking their due process and there are legal steps Qatar is taking,"
he said.
Sheikh Mohammed said one of his main worries was a direct conflict
between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
"Qatar is just a sandwich between them. And this means that any
direct conflict between Iran and Saudi will have a spill over not
only on Qatar but on the entire region".
Qatar's economy has been growing faster than expected despite the
boycott and Sheikh Mohammed said its sovereign wealth fund, one of
the world's largest, was expanding investments abroad, defying
expectations it would shrink.

"We have built strong resilience, we are opening up new trade lines,
we have built a new port," he said. "Our investment fund is seeking
new investment opportunities... and tapping new continents. We have
plans for Africa, which we will launch soon, and next year we have
plans for the Central Asian region."
If the dialogue with its neighbors resumes, the countries should
work out a new strategy for co-existence based on respect for one
another's sovereignty, he said.
(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Gareth Jones)
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