President Donald Trump signed a series of agreements with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday.
The agreements involved a purchasing agreement by Qatar for Boeing aircraft, as well as letters of intent and “joint cooperation” between Qatar and the U.S. The emir also signed an intent agreement to purchase MQ-9 drone aircraft.
Al Thani said he had a “great” conversation with Trump prior to the signing ceremony on Wednesday, adding that the agreements have elevated the U.S.-Qatar relationship to “another level.”
The deepening U.S. relationship with Qatar has drawn fresh scrutiny this week, both due to Trump’s visit and amid reports that his administration may accept a free jet from the Qatari royal family to temporarily replace the current Air Force One.
The prospect has drawn bipartisan pushback, which Trump has met with indifference.
“Qatar is not, in my opinion, a great ally. I mean, they support Hamas. So what I’m worried about is the safety of the president,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told reporters on Tuesday.
U.S. relations with Doha have come a long way since 2017, when Trump accused Qatar of harboring terrorism: “The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level,” Trump said at the time.
From there, Qatar became a major non-NATO ally to the U.S. in 2022 under President Joe Biden and is home to Al Udeid Air Base, one of the U.S.’s largest Middle Eastern bases and a key hub for U.S. Central Command operations.
Qatar has been at the forefront of peace and hostage negotiations, especially in the war between Israel and Hamas. An Israeli delegation traveled to Doha on Tuesday to hash out a potential agreement on a hostage exchange and ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
In March, weeks of negotiations led by U.S. and Qatari mediators led to the release of American George Glezmann, who had been imprisoned by the Taliban in Afghanistan for more than two years. Doha’s negotiators were also involved in the U.S.-Hamas deal to release the last living American hostage, Edan Alexander, on Monday.
The Trump Organization has also cinched a new deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar, partnering with Qatari Diar, a real estate company backed by that country’s sovereign wealth fund.
