Ambassador of Qatar Discusses Developments in the Middle East
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 14, 2015) — The ambassador of Qatar to the United States, His Excellency Mohamed Jaham Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, will speak about current developments in the Middle East at 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, in the William T. Young Library Auditorium as part of the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce’s speaker series.
“It is an incredibly opportune time to have a Mideast official here in Lexington given the complex and worsening political and military situations in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq,” said Patterson School Director Carey Cavanaugh. “Al-Kuwari has condemned the fragmentation along sectarian lines that has created anarchy in the region, emphasizing that people can best sort out problems by expressing diverse views – fighting with ideas, not using force.”
Qatar’s foreign minister declared during Secretary of State Kerry’s recent visit to Doha their support for U.S. efforts to constrain Iran’s nuclear program, noting the accord was “the best option among other options” and had “made the region safer and more stable.”
Qatar is reportedly the world’s richest country per capita; income for its citizens was $102,100 in 2014; the U.S. was $52,800. It is the leading world supplier of liquid natural gas, accounting for one quarter of LNG world exports, and a major investor in education – with branch campuses of major universities like Cornell, Georgetown and Carnegie Mellon in its “Education City.” It is the fourth largest market for U.S. goods in the Arab world, with purchases of nearly $5 billion in 2013 and served as a forward deployed headquarters for the U.S. Central Command air operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2020 it will host the FIFA World Cup.
Al Kuwari has been a career diplomat since 1981. His first overseas assignment was Washington, D.C., followed by tours of duty in Spain and Iran and his own capital, Doha. He became ambassador to the U.S. in March 2014. Immediately prior to that he served as Qatar’s ambassador to France and Switzerland. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Portland and a master’s degree from the University of Madrid.
Al Kuwari’s appearance on campus is sponsored by UK’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce (http://www.uky.edu/PattersonSchool). The school seeks to expose students and the local community to key leaders and experts in international affairs, business and trade. Upcoming speakers in the series later this semester will be His Excellency Arun Kumar Singh, the ambassador of India to the United States, and His Excellency Andras Simonyi, the former ambassador of Hungary to the United States.
MEDIA CONTACT: Gail Hairston, 859-257-3302, gail.hairston@uky.edu