Comoros–Qatar relations are the

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

between

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

and

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

Diplomatic representation

Qatar established an embassy in

Moroni, Comoros Moroni (; ) is the largest city, national Capital (political), capital, and seat of the government of the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean. Moroni means "at the river" (''mroni'' in Comorian language, Shing ...

in 2014. The country's inaugural ambassador to Comoros, Mubarak bin Abdulrahman Al Nasser, presented his credentials to the president of Comoros in November 2014. Comoros maintains an embassy in

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

, Qatar. It appointed its first ambassador to Qatar, Hadji Abdallah Abdoulhamid, in January 2014. His tenure ended in January 2016. Qatar expelled Comoros' representatives in the country on 19 June 2017, after it severed ties with Doha, giving them 48 hours to leave the country.

High level visits

On 22 April 2010, Emir

Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (; born 1 January 1952) is a member of Qatar's royal family, the House of Thani. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 until 2013 when he abdicated the throne, handing power to his fourth son Tamim bin Hamad Al T ...

became the first Arab head of state to pay an official visit to Comoros. While there, he extended an offer of 20 million euros to the Comoros government for it to pay the salaries of its civil servants. President Ahmed Sambi confirmed that the money was deposited into the Comoros central bank in May 2010.

Diplomatic cooperation

2017 Qatari diplomatic crisis

On 7 June 2017, Comoros cut ties with Qatar, following the lead of several other countries led by a quartet composed of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. Shortly after, there were some demonstrations held in the Comoros capital of Moroni which protested against this decision. Five members of the Comoros-Qatar Friendship Association were arrested by Comoran authorities on 19 June, but were released after 24 hours. Former president Ahmed Sambi condemned the decision to sever ties, saying that Qatar was a "friendly country".

Foreign aid and investments

Qatar hosted a donors conference in March 2010, during which $540 million was pledged for the development of Comoros by Arab-based donors. Qatari-based organizations pledged $200 million towards Comoros' development during the conference. In the aftermath of the conference, Qatar National Hotels Company, a government-owned organization, signed a deal with the Comoran government to build a $70 million hotel resort in Comoros in April 2010. Qatar Charity became the first philanthropic organization to open a field office in Moroni, the capital city of Comoros, in 2010. At a meeting held by the Arab Committee for Development and Investment in the Comoros in February 2011, Qatar Charity stated that it was executing QR10 million worth of projects, and said it would donate an additional QR55 million towards social development, education and health projects within the upcoming years. In the following years, Qatar Charity spent QR2 million on refurbishing health clinics and schools in

Mohéli Mohéli , also known as Mwali, is an autonomously-governed island that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. It is the smallest of the three major islands in the country. It is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa and it is the ...

. Jassim and Hamad bin Jassim Charitable Foundation announced it would be constructing a $37 million hospital in

Anjouan Anjouan () is an autonomous volcanic island in the Comoro Islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, part of the Comoros, Union of the Comoros. It is known in Comorian languages, Shikomori as Ndzuani, Ndzuwani or Nzwani, and, until the early twentie ...

in 2011. Furthermore, the organization launched a QR4 million cultural complex in Comoros in September 2014. The complex was planned to feature Arabic as well as local Comoran architectural elements. Following Comoros' severing of ties with Qatar in June 2017, local media reported that two local Qatari charities, RAF and Qatar Charity, were suspending their activities in the country. Reports also claimed that the $37 million under-construction hospital in Anjouan was put on hold for the time being. It was speculated that the cessation of philanthropic activities by Qatar was a retaliatory measure against Comoros' alignment with the Saudi-led quartet in their diplomatic spat.

References

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