Jordan Times
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
‘Government does not
intend to sever diplomatic relations with Qatar’
By Khalid Neimat
AMMAN — The government on Monday said Jordan does
not intend to sever diplomatic relations or brotherly ties with Qatar, but seeks
to know Doha’s motive for voting against the Kingdom’s candidate to succeed UN
Chief Kofi Annan.
Foreign Affairs Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib told the Lower House Arab and
International Affairs Committee during a meeting yesterday that “some Arab
parties are attempting to bridge the gap between Jordan and Qatar,” following
the Kingdom’s decision to recall its ambassador (Omar Al Ahmad) in Doha for
consultations last Tuesday.
The government said a “host of issues” prompted the decision — the last of which
was Qatar’s vote for South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to succeed Annan
ahead of Jordan’s UN Ambassador Prince Zeid, a widely respected diplomat.
During his weekly press briefing yesterday, Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh
said there were several pending issues between the two countries, which needed
to be discussed and solved, citing a campaign against the Kingdom by Doha-based
media outlets.
Last week, Agence France-Presse quoted a Jordanian official as saying there were
a series of incidents over the past year that heightened tensions between the
two countries.
“Qatar has made it difficult for Jordanians [living in the Gulf country] to
renew residency permits or to obtain visas and is always acting against Arab
positions,” the official was quoted as saying.
Around 15,000 Jordanians work in Qatar, most of them in the construction
industry.
In a related development, Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa yesterday
stressed the need to quickly end the dispute between Jordan and Qatar, the
Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
“During the Arab League meeting in September, the Qatari foreign minister had
reservations about the Jordanian candidate — Prince Zeid — claiming he was late,
and Qatar had already committed itself to supporting the Thai candidate,” Musa
said.
Following the Cairo meeting, Arab foreign ministers urged representatives at the
UN to support Prince Zeid’s nomination, Musa added.
The government last week expressed disappointment with Doha, saying its lack of
commitment to a unanimous Arab League decision to nominate Prince Zeid for the
post was a breakaway from Arab ranks.
Meanwhile, Lower House members yesterday expressed satisfaction with the
government’s measures in this issue.
“Recalling the ambassador for consultations was the minimum diplomatic action in
such circumstances,” Deputy Mohammad Abu Hdeib (Amman, Fifth District) told The
Jordan Times.
Deputies urged the Arab League to question Qatar’s position, which was not in
line with the Arab foreign ministers’ agreement in Cairo.
Qatar has defended its decision not to back the Jordanian candidate, blaming an
unspecified party for trying to drive a wedge between Amman and Doha, Reuters
reported.
“We informed them [Jordan] in front of all Arabs... that we will support the
Thai or the (South) Korean candidate,” Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Ben
Jassim Ben Jabr Al Thani told the Doha-based Al Jazeera television from Cairo.
“We know there is a country or a party that wants to complicate ties (between
Qatar and Jordan) and if they [Jordanians] choose to walk in this path, then
this is a very unfortunate. We will not walk in this path,” Reuters quoted
Sheikh Hamad as saying.
Meanwhile, it was announced yesterday that the UN Security Council approved Ban
as the next secretary general.