By Ahmed al-Masri
DOHA (AA) - A planned U.S.-Qatar strategic dialog initiative will kick off next Tuesday in the U.S. capital, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) has reported.
According to a government statement published Friday by QNA, the initiative is aimed at stepping up cooperation between the two countries, “which share longstanding strategic interests at the political, economic, security, educational and cultural levels."
The first dialogue session next week is expected to yield a number of bilateral agreements in the energy and maritime transport fields, according to the statement.
The Qatari delegation to attend next Tuesday’s dialog session will be led by Foreign Minister (and Deputy PM) Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani; Defense Minister Khalid al-Attiyah; Energy and Industry Minister Mohammed Saleh Abdulla al-Sada; and Finance Minister Ali al-Emadi.
The U.S. will be represented at the talks by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson; Defense Secretary James Mattis; Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin; and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.