H.E. Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani: Foreign Minister of Qatar

As America marks the first anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks, the debate on the use of American force to effect regime change in Iraq is intensifying. Qatar is a key player in this unfolding drama as an important voice in Arab diplomacy and as host to the largest American air base in the Arabian Gulf. To discuss the government of Qatar’s approach to the post-9/11 challenges that confront the Arab world, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy will present a special address by His Excellency Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, the Foreign Minister of Qatar. Following the address, the Foreign Minister will take questions from the audience.

Sheikh Hamad has served the government of Qatar as foreign minister since 1992. Through the last decade of Middle East turbulence, he has helped to guide his country into a close alliance with the United States, while it has, at the same time, played a leadership role in the Islamic Conference and in Arab-Israeli peacemaking. Sheikh Hamad is a member of the Ruling Family Council, the Supreme Defense Council, and the Head of Qatar’s Committee for the Support of Jerusalem.

The Saban Center for Middle East Policy, housed in the Brookings Foreign Policy Studies Program, promotes research and educational programs on critical issues that affect U.S. interests in the region, including the Arab-Israeli conflict, political dynamics in the Islamic world, developments in Iran, and the challenges of regime change in Iraq. The Center has a core group of full-time Middle East specialists complemented by visiting fellows from the Arab world and Israel.

The Brookings Leadership Forum provides high-level government officials from around the world the opportunity to address members of the Washington policy community and to share their insights and perspectives on world events as well as on issues of particular concern to their countries.