Qatar Ambassador Highlights Economic Diplomacy

Qatar's Ambassador to the United States, Mohammed bin Jaham Al Kuwari, highlighted the importance of economic diplomacy during a lecture Feb. 23, 2016, at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Examples from Qatar include a $100 million Hurricane Katrina fund to support post-disaster housing, healthcare and education in New Orleans. More recently, Qatar pledged $100 million at the Syria Donors Conference — in addition to $1.6 billion already contributed to alleviate the Syrian refugee crisis.

Al Kuwari also referred to Qatar Investment Authority recently opening an office in New York toward investing more than $35 billion in a number of U.S. cities over the next five years. He said economic diplomacy serves two purposes. It builds economic relations and harnesses economic factors to enhance foreign policy goals.

The lecture was organized by the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) within the Smith School’s Office of Global Initiatives.

“A recurring theme in the discussion was the importance that the Qatar government attaches to investments in education, not just to diversify the economy, but also to ensure that the aspirations of youth can be met,” said Kislaya Prasad, CIBER director and research professor in Smith’s Department of Logistics, Business and Public Policy.