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11/18/2022 07:04 PM EST
Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson
Daniel Benaim, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arabian Peninsula AffairsBureau of Near Eastern Affairs
Stacy White, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Professional and Cultural ExchangesBureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
MR PATEL: Hey, everybody. Good afternoon. Thanks so much for joining us today for this preview call as it relates to Secretary Blinken’s upcoming travel to Doha. This call is on the record, but it will be embargoed until the conclusion of the call. Joining us today is Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Daniel Benaim and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs Stacy White. We will – as the moderator said, we will have questions for – we’ll have time for questions and answers at the end. But to start, I want to turn it over to Deputy Assistant Secretary Benaim.
MR BENAIM: Sure. Thanks very much, Vedant. So Secretary of State Tony Blinken will travel to Doha November 21st and 22nd. While he’s in Qatar, the Secretary will launch the fifth annual U.S.-Qatar Strategic Dialogue. He will meet with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The launch of the Strategic Dialogue is an important opportunity to strengthen and coordinate our strong ties with Qatar across a range of fields, including security, energy, global health, human rights, and more.
Secretary Blinken will also be cheering on the U.S. Men’s National Team and attending the team’s first match against Wales. Qatar is a steadfast and important partner to the United States, and U.S.-Qatar ties continue to grow. This year, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries. Together we’ve made important progress on a range of issues, including facilitating the travel of at-risk Afghans to the United States for new beginnings, strengthening regional security, and expanding commercial investment ties between our countries. President Biden designated Qatar a major non-NATO ally this year in recognition of our strategic partnership, a move that he heralded as long overdue. The tournament has provided an opportunity to further improve our cooperation on security, cultural exchange, labor practices, anti-trafficking, accessibility, and many other issues, and that work will continue.
We’re also pleased by the historic step of opening direct flights between Tel Aviv and Doha for the duration of the World Cup for both Palestinian and Israeli fans, and commend the efforts that went into arriving at this arrangement. The trip is also another chance to make clear, as we often have, that the United States is in this region to stay, that we will remain an active engaged partner in this region, and that we’re invested in building a positive future in the Gulf, including with our partners such as Qatar.
I now would like to turn it over to my colleague in ECA, Deputy Assistant Secretary Stacy White.
MS WHITE: Thank you, Dan. I’m so pleased to be able to join my colleagues Vedant Patel and Deputy Assistant Secretary Benaim in this briefing to discuss the Secretary’s upcoming trip to Qatar for the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
But while my expert colleagues discussed the relationship between the United States and Qatar, I’d like to share a few words on how the United States uses sports as a driver of diplomacy to help achieve our broader foreign policy goals. Sports diplomacy is a key component of the United States public diplomacy efforts. It supports U.S. foreign policy by addressing policy issues and engaging essential communities, including youth, women, girls, and persons with disabilities, in order to achieve results. In a world where many things can divide people, sports transcends borders and have the power to bring individuals together.
So as part of the department’s people-to-people diplomacy efforts, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs implements exchanges and programs to reach important underserved communities and leverage sports and American athletes for good. In fact, more than 81 members of the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams have served as sports envoys. These are generous and committed elite American athletes who travel overseas to engage youths. The lineup includes current U.S. Soccer President Cindy Cone, Alex Morgan, Julie Foudy, Ashlyn Harris, Tony Sena, and Cobi Jones.
In addition to American athletes traveling overseas, the department also implements a Sports Visitor Program which brings young athletes, coaches, and administrators to the United States to engage with their peers, both on the field and in the community. And on Monday in Doha, we bring sports diplomacy to the forefront as part of Secretary Blinken’s visit to the World Cup. He will be joined at a youth soccer clinic by Qatari Government officials, the foreign secretary of Mexico, and the minister for international development of Canada, since, as you know, our three countries will be hosting the 2026 World Cup in North America.
This will be a great international sports diplomacy moment, as the Secretary will participate in the program with youth from the United States, Qatar, Mexico, and Canada and with a nongovernmental partner, Generation Amazing. In addition, U.S. Soccer President Cindy Cone, who, as I mentioned, is a State Department sports envoy, will also be participating and accompanying the Secretary at that clinic. Cone is also a celebrated former U.S. Women’s National Team player and World Cup and Olympic Games champion.
MR PATEL: Thanks so much Stacy. We now have some time to take some questions. Operator, if you could please repeat instructions for our participants on how to ask a question.
OPERATOR: Absolutely. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press 1 and then 0 on your telephone keypad. You may withdraw your question at any time by repeating the 1, 0 command. If you’re using a speaker phone, please pick up the handset before pressing the numbers. Once again, if you have a question, you may press 1 and then 0 at this time. And one moment for the first question.
MR PATEL: Thanks. Let’s first go to the line of Abigail Williams with NBC News.
OPERATOR: Just a moment, please. Ms. Williams, your line is now open.
QUESTION: Thanks for doing the call. I wonder: Does the U.S. have any concerns about Qatar’s labor practices and the death of what some human right’s groups say is thousands of people who built Qatar’s stadium and the surrounding infrastructure to support their hosting the World Cup? And if so, are you concerned that the Secretary’s attendance at the game might send the wrong signal to the Qatari Government?
MR BENAIM: Thanks very much. Dan Benaim here. As President Biden said in his National Security Strategy, human rights is one of the five key principles driving U.S. policy in this region. The United States has been discussing human rights with Qatar and with other partners in this region at all levels, and we will continue to do so long after the World Cup concludes. We support Qatar’s efforts to fully implement the reforms it has undertaken and to continue the work that remains. And that is a conversation that we have been having with the Qatari Government and we’ll continue to have with the Qatari Government.
MR PATEL: Thanks. Let’s next go to the line of Jennifer Hansler with CNN.
QUESTION: Thanks for doing the call. Just to follow up on Abigail’s question, do you intend to raise specific concerns around the World Cup with the Qatari Government, given that there are these reports around their labor practices? And then separately, are there any plans to meet with any Taliban officials while you’re in Doha? Thank you.
MR BENAIM: Labor issues, as I said, have been a regular topic in our ongoing conversations with the Qatari Government in the run-up to the cup and will remain so, including a visit by our Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya out to Qatar.
And on the second question, I don’t have anything for you.
MR PATEL: Hey, Jennifer, we do not have any plans.
Next let’s go to the line of Vivian Salama with The Wall Street Journal.
QUESTION: Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for doing this. I have two questions; one is actually just expanding on what Jenny just asked. There’s going to be dignitaries from all over the world attending the games, so I was wondering if there are any efforts for pull-asides that you guys already have in the works or meetings with non-Qatari, non-Taliban officials, since you just referenced that.
And my second question, really quick, is just on the ongoing Qatar-Saudi dispute. And I was wondering, in your bilats, how much is that going to come up? Are you all working to try to either mediate or find some sort of a solution to the ongoing kind of spat between Gulf states? Thanks.
MR PATEL: Vivian, I can offer real quick on the Secretary’s schedule. We of course, as you know, on – as precedent with previous trips, will have more specifics of his day-to-day to offer as we get closer, but don’t have any schedules or additional bilateral engagements to preview at this time beyond that.
MR BENAIM: And Vivian – this is Dan Benaim – on the second part of your – on the first part of your question – well, anyway, on the Saudi-Qatari part, since the AlUla Declaration in early 2021, we’ve seen ties between these countries warm and a wide range of bilateral cooperation take root and grow. And what we’re looking at now is ways to advance that cooperation and maintain regional cooperation and pursue regional integration. So we certainly still talk about these topics, but we’re pleased by the progress that we’ve seen to date.
MR PATEL: Thanks. Let’s next go to the line of Michael Lavers with the Washington Blade.
QUESTION: Thank you so much for the call. Kind of a similar question to what other folks have asked. Does the Secretary plan to specifically raise Qatar’s LGBTQI rights record while in country?
MR BENAIM: So I’m not going to get ahead of Secretary Blinken on his specific plans. But this is certainly an issue that we have raised with the Qatari Government and discussed in depth and will continue to do so.
MR PATEL: Thanks so much. Let’s go to the line of Matt Lee with the AP.
QUESTION: Hi, there. Can you all hear me? Hello?
MR PATEL: Yes. Go ahead.
QUESTION: Yeah. Hey, I just want to follow up on Vivian’s question. Maybe I completely misheard the opening, but Vivian asked you about meetings that he might have with other foreign officials. And in the opening, I thought that maybe I was wrong that you said he was going to be doing an event with the Mexicans and the Canadians. Do those not count? Or did I mishear? Sorry.