The leader, emir, of Qatar in the Persian Gulf Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani is visiting Finland this week. Emir’s visit 4.–5. September is hosted by the President of the Republic Alexander Stubb.
In the discussions between the president and the emir, topics such as deepening the economic and political cooperation between Finland and Qatar and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza will be discussed.
Senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Toni Alaranta can see that there are several reasons for the emir’s visit to Finland.
– The visit involves national and financial interests. Along with the United States, Qatar is the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas, and we will certainly need this in increasing quantities in the future.
According to Alaranta, there are also commercial opportunities for Finns in Qatar.
– Qatar is one of the countries that will suffer from climate change, and at some point Qatar’s natural resources will run out. There, they are certainly interested in things related to climate and health technology, which Finland could possibly offer.
At the same time, Qatar wants to build its image as a modern Middle Eastern country. However, in terms of political reform, Qatar seems to regularly take one step forward and two steps back, says Alaranta.
– Qatar is an authoritarian state led by the al-Thani dynasty, where citizens have very few opportunities to criticize politics.
“Accusing and poking leads nowhere”
Qatar’s numerous human rights violations were much on display during the soccer World Cup hosted by the country in 2022. The rights of foreign workers, sexual minorities and women in particular are, according to Alaranna, Qatar’s central problems.
According to Alaranta, the emir’s visit should still be approached neutrally.
– We can ask the same questions about almost all countries in the Middle East when it comes to problems related to authoritarianism and human rights. However, we have reasons to deal with these countries, and that is why visits like this are also organized from time to time.
President Stubb also justified the need for the emir’s visit during Radio Suomen’s question hour on Sunday. The president referred to the concept of value-based realism, which he has placed at the center of his foreign policy.
– Value-based realism includes the fact that we act on the basis of our own values, but we also understand that the world’s major problems, such as the wars in the Middle East, are not solved only with countries that agree with us, Stubb said.
According to Stubb, soft influence is usually the best way to promote things. According to him, it is important that the emir of Qatar gets to witness what a free Finnish society is like for at least a few hours.
– Then we can also discuss, for example, human rights through questions.
The Foreign Policy Institute’s Alaranta also believes that dialogue is essential.
– How we can solve these problems is a difficult question. Aggressive accusations and patting usually lead nowhere, he says.
According to Alaranta, for example, with regard to the status of women, Qatar has taken some cautious steps forward.
– Yes, there is also an understanding that women make up half of society and that it would therefore be good for them to have some kind of role in, for example, business life and the economy.
Qatar is an important ally of the United States
Qatar has played a key role in the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, the extremist organization that governs Gaza. Stubb and Emir al-Thani are also supposed to discuss the situation in the Middle East.
According to Toni Alaranna, Qatar has become an important peace broker because it is able to act as a bridge between different parties.
– It has long-term relations with Islamist organizations in the Middle East, the Muslim Brotherhood and, for example, Hamas.
Alaranta emphasizes that Qatar is the United States’ most important ally in the Persian Gulf. Qatar has made the largest military base in the region available to US forces. At the same time, Qatar gets the external protection it needs from the United States.
However, according to Alaranta, Qatar should not be classified into any camp. In the Middle East, each state pursues its own national interests, he says.
Qatar has also been involved in the exploration of the peace talks in Ukraine. Most recently, in July, Emir al-Thani met the President of Russia Vladimir Putin in Kazakhstan.
– All the big gamblers in the region practice the same policy of balance and they don’t want to buy the Western countries’ narrative that the whole world must stand against Russia.
In Finland, there is also talk of Ukraine
According to President Stubb, Emir al-Thani’s visit to Finland is also intended to discuss a just peace to Ukraine.
– Finland is currently acting as a peace mediator in the sense that the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi in April, among other things, asked me to be in contact as much as possible with the important countries of the Global South about them supporting Ukraine, Stubb said in an interview with Radio Suomen.
According to Stubb, however, Finland’s position as a peace mediator is difficult in the sense that Finland has chosen its side in the Ukrainian conflict.
Direct political contacts without a mandate from the UN or allies from the West or Ukraine are also not possible. However, according to Stubb, that does not mean that Finland cannot have discussions and act “under the radar”, so to speak.
During his visit to Finland, Emir al-Thani and his delegation will also meet the Speaker of the Parliament Jussi Halla-ahon and the prime minister Petteri Orpon. Before arriving in Finland, the emir will visit Sweden and Norway.