Prime Minister Støre met with the Amir of Qatar

‘It is a great pleasure to welcome the Amir to Norway. Norway enjoys good relations with Qatar and our countries cooperate in a number of areas, including peace diplomacy, energy, the green transition and business,’ said Prime Minister Støre. 

The Amir’s visit comes at a critical time for the Middle East. Qatar is playing a key role in the negotiations on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

For many years, Qatar has served as a mediator in various conflicts in and outside the Middle East, such as in Afghanistan, Venezuela and Ukraine.

‘Qatar is an increasingly important actor in peace and reconciliation efforts, and we are cooperating closely in this area. Our discussions focused on the catastrophic situation in Gaza, the work to secure a ceasefire and the unstable situation across the Middle East. Norway supports the efforts to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and we share Qatar’s concern about instability in the Middle East,’ said Mr Støre.

Ties between Norway and Qatar date back more than 50 years and long-term cooperation in industry and trade has been established. The discussions today also highlighted opportunities to expand cooperation, in particular in technology development and the green transition. Issues and challenges related to workers’ rights were also discussed.

‘The 2022 FIFA World Cup, which was hosted by Qatar, drew attention to the human rights situation in Qatar, in particular the rights of migrants and other workers. These are important considerations in the context of Norwegian business cooperation as well. It is encouraging to note that Qatar has introduced a number of legislative amendments in this area, and it is vital that these amendments lead to genuine change moving forward. I raised this issue with the Amir during our meeting,’ said the Prime Minister.