HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani has warned that if anything happened to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Sudan ended up in chaos, the whole of Africa would also sink into chaos and that Al Qaeda would be happy to see Sudan become like Iraq.In an interview with the German magazine Spiegel, the Emir noted that Qatar has been mediating in Sudan for a long time, particularly because the groups in Darfur do not want the Arab League to get involved.
The Emir stressed the need to give the parties time to let them voice their grievances, and finally discuss the future of their country.
Concerning the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s attendance to the Arab Summit, the Emir said: “I don’t think so this time, because some Arab countries do not want this. They are not realising that America is talking to Ahmadinejad. They took their action because America was against Iran. But they do not realise that a big change is happening in the US. It will take some time, but they will run to Tehran. I know this very well.”
To a question about the Arab and the Latin American summits, hosted by Doha, the Emir said: “We in the Middle East like to talk politics, we like to argue. Just look at the three prophets, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. They are all from this small region which creates problems all the time. So I think we will talk politics. But of course in the Arab countries this is leaders’ politics, since there are no elections that any leader will be tied to. Finding a link to Latin America will be an economic issue.”
Concerning the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s attendance, the Emir said: “Yes, my friend Hugo Chavez is coming.”
The Emir expressed the hope that the global economic crisis would end, saying: “When the Americans recover from their depression, the world will recover.”
He said the oil price should continue to stay in the $40 range for at least one or two more years, saying: “This way we can help the world out of this crisis. If the world economy recovers, it will be good for us, too. Automatically, the price of oil will go up again. I don’t see why Opec countries should continue to cut production just to keep the price of oil high. This will not affect the industrial countries alone; it will also hit poor countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Who will look after them?”
“This limits our ambitions. But I expected the price of oil to go down one day because we already suffered from this after 1973. When the oil price went up we became so rich. People bought a lot of things and they travelled every summer. Then the oil price went down and everything shrank. Since then, I have sought to avoid letting this happen again,” the Emir noted.
Answering a question about how the Gulf countries spent their wealth over the past years, the Emir said: “Up until now, we have spent most of this money domestically, on infrastructure, on factories, hospitals and universities. But two years ago we started to invest outside the country. With the current crisis, many countries prefer to keep their money instead of investing it abroad. For us, though, this is an opportunity that will not be repeated in the next 20 years. We have, for example, acquired 16% of shares in Barclays bank (in Britain) and 10% of Credit Suisse. We are going ahead.”
Concerning Qatar’s plans to invest in Germany, the Emir said: “Germany is a very important industrial country. We know that the Germans are hard workers; we know that they will fight for their economy. We also discussed Daimler. To invest in such companies is a first rate opportunity. Of course we are coming to invest in Germany. That is certain.”
The Emir noted German cars were used in most of the Gulf countries, saying: “German trucks are the most important in the world and they have been used heavily here in our region. For sure we will invest in the car manufacturers in Germany. But we will have to find the right time and the right price. We are also trying to bring high tech to our country, which we want to make a place of science and technology.”
“To invest in a carmaker is good because automobiles are not only sold in a small country, but rather all over the world. In fact, in the 1960s, our ruler Sheikh Ahmad was the first Gulf leader to visit Daimler. We were rich before oil because we exported pearls. Then the Japanese came with the artificial pearl and we became poor again. All things change, and this is often on my mind,” the Emir added.
About the interest in having German universities in the Education City, the Emir said: “They are welcome. But are they ready? The same question applies to the British: We have had relations with them for a long time, but they have only started to talk to us (about this issue) recently. I really don’t want you to think of Qatar as a hydrocarbon country alone. We know that hydrocarbons will come and go. But education will stay. It is the most important thing for us.”
Concerning his expectations on the global crisis, the Emir said: “China is coming, India is coming and Russia is on its way, too, although they are suffering because the price of oil has come down. China has almost 30mn jobless now. But I think they will recover. I don’t know if America and Europe will still be leading. The main thing now, though, is that they prevent the world economy from collapsing.”
About Qatar’s ability to supply Europe with gas if Russia fails to deliver, the Emir said: “We are selling gas to Italy, Spain, Belgium and, starting within the next few weeks, to Britain. I know that the Germans prefer to have their own gas supply, but I think our gas could come to Germany through another European country. However, this depends on the quantities we have on hand and the price.”
“With Opec they have a cartel. Why don’t we have this gas cartel as well? And why don’t we make a sort of agreement between consumers and producers? I wouldn’t mind such a gas cartel, but it will take time because some countries today sell for high prices and others sell for low prices. It will be hard for those selling high to bring their prices down. So we will need time.”
Original Article from: Gulf Times
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