UK Relations with Qatar

David Amess Excerpts

Thursday 10th December 2020 Westminster Hall

[Sir David Amess (Southend West) (Con)]

I am going to bore everyone, with a coarse Essex voice, even though the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) has said everything I wanted to say. I will begin by drawing my attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

I echo everything that the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland said about our wonderful trip. I think he left out the name of Ibrahim. In terms of the hands-on organisation, Ibrahim was a real star. By the time I have finished, my right hon. Friend the Minister will wish that he had been with us on our hard-working trip.

I welcome the strong bilateral ties that the United Kingdom has with Qatar, especially in terms of energy, our economic partnership, and our educational and cultural ties. Historically, as we have heard, Qatar has had human rights issues, but I am pleased that the Government there have announced democratically positive initiatives to further develop the population’s quality of life. I welcome those recent announcements and encourage the Qatari Government to continue on that path, and our own Government to maintain and develop our important relationship with Qatar. I say to my right hon. Friend the Minister, this is a really good time to deepen those ties.

The chattering classes talk about the trips that Members of Parliament go on. As far as I am concerned, when we go on these trips we get to know much more about our colleagues than would otherwise have been the case. My right hon. Friend the Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Stephen Crabb) learned a little bit more about me many years ago when we went on a trip to Israel.

I have to say, our trip to Qatar was rather special. The highlight was undoubtedly our riding of camels. The House might be interested to know that the Emir took me at my word, and a few weeks later two camels were delivered to the Amess household, and they are grazing very nicely in our back garden. My wife occasionally invites them into the house. The Emir was as good as his word; very generous. There was a wonderful moment when we were in Land Rovers, going up and down sand dunes. It brought home to us all that it is not just about the desert, camels and all that, but, underlying it all, Qatar is a magnificent country that is truly underrated.

As vice-chairman of the all-party parliamentary British-Qatar group, we work closely with the ambassador, who is absolutely first class, and relevant organisations to develop and foster good relations between our country and Qatar. The visit that I refer to was in February 2018. It does not seem possible, but we went again on one of the very last trips before lockdown, in February this year; it seems a long time ago.

I am a sponsor of early-day motion 1093, which was tabled by the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland. That welcomed the announcement by the Emir of Qatar that the country will hold elections for its advisory Shura Council next October, which is an important step on the road to democracy. Three years ago, I felt very strongly that Qatar had an unfair political and diplomatic blockade. I know the Minister has to dance very carefully, as those in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office always have to do. He would not want to upset any of the neighbours in the region, and oil is all important. I am not constrained by any of that, even though I have been to most of those countries.

I thought the blockade was very unfair. It was placed upon Qatar by a Saudi-led group of Gulf countries. I am pleased that our Government have called for all sides to de-escalate and have pledged our firm commitment to our strategic partnership with the Gulf Co-operation Council. It is positive news that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have confirmed their commitment to reaching a solution and protecting Gulf solidarity. However, that is not a breakthrough, but at least it is a step in the right direction.

Peaceful talks need to be successfully accomplished in the Gulf. The United Kingdom should have an active interest in ending the blockade and protecting Qatar so it can continue to improve the lives of workers and women, and promote democracy. I am sure that my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jackie Doyle-Price) will have much to say about her engagement in terms of women’s rights.

Workers’ rights have been a big issue in Qatar, with poor working conditions and problems with immigrant labour and human trafficking. I am very pleased that the Government announced a non-discriminatory minimum wage, which is one of the highest in the developing world and the first of its kind in the middle east—that is really good. The Government have also announced the removal of the “no objection” certificate requirement, which means that employees in Qatar can now move between jobs after serving a short notice period. That will undoubtedly inject competition into the job market, incentivise employers to respect the rights of their workforce, and increase job satisfaction.

The workers’ right reforms are linked especially to the 2022 World cup, which will be hosted in Qatar. I must say that our trip to the new stadium was absolutely out of this world. I have never been in a stadium where the doors magically open and it is all air-conditioned—it was state-of-the-art stuff. I was in the royal gallery for the visit of the Emir. One of his wives—they tend to have more than one wife, and I think he has three or five—jumped into the air with great excitement. I thought, “It is utter madness to have the World cup in Qatar,” but I was so wrong. They have really thought of everything, and I think it will be an absolutely fantastic competition. I said to the Emir, “I hope the final will be between Qatar and England.” Of course, I would expect England to win the match. [Interruption.] I know that Scotland is doing a bit better at the moment.

I am pleased that the UK is involved in Qatar’s sporting events. UK-based companies have exported £940 million-worth of goods to Qatar already, supporting projects that are underpinning Qatar’s development and its preparations for the 2022 World cup. If the Minister ratchets up the conversations with the relevant Department —the World cup is under two years away—perhaps we could do even more trade than we are doing at the moment.

The English Football Association has signed an agreement with the Qatar Football Association to promote grassroots football, youth development and women’s football, among other things. I feel strongly about women’s football—I know that as an accomplished athlete, Ms Rees, you feel very strongly about it too—because my youngest daughter once played for Arsenal Ladies. The Amess household is very keen on women’s football. It is welcome to see the United Kingdom play such a crucial role in the development of equal access to sport in Qatar, and hopefully in the rest of the middle east.

The economic partnership between the UK and Qatar is very strong, and hopefully it will continue to develop. It is a mutual relationship, as both countries benefit from the other’s financial investments. As the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland has already said—I will repeat it, but in an Essex accent—the UK is the most popular destination in Europe for Qatari investment, with £40 billion invested to date in sectors such as commercial property, banking and finance. Just like we are involved in supporting the 2022 World cup in Qatar, investment from Qatar funded the London 2012 Olympic village. I was privileged to chair the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Bill Committee—coming from the east end of London, my goodness, what a wonderful celebration of sporting activity the games was! Our companies and businesses benefit from operating in the Qatari market as new opportunities become available. As the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland has already said, 1,134 UK companies operate in the Qatari market, and 993 are joint Qatari and British ventures. I hope the strong economic partnership continues.

As we all know—I will not upset the Minister and my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock—Southend is the most important part of Essex, which is why we are going to become a city at the time of Her Majesty the Queen’s platinum jubilee, so I was delighted to welcome Ambassador Al-Khater and representatives of Qatar’s biggest bank and Qatar Airways to Southend in March last year. They were absolutely wowed by the place, particularly the pier. Without upsetting local residents, they are keen—I hope they are still keen—to be involved in some sort of joint venture for a marina. There are many exciting opportunities for investment and development in Southend. As we leave the European Union, I hope that the visit will go some way to strengthening our ties.

Possibly the most well-known opportunity, as the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland said, is energy and oil. Qatar accounted for 80% of the United Kingdom’s liquefied natural gas imports in the second quarter of this year, which represented 51% of total energy imports for the UK between April and June 2020. My goodness, they are important! Qatar is an important energy partner for us and there is an opportunity for co-operation on hydrogen, specifically green hydrogen, which the Government—and I support them—are keen on. Hydrogen is part of the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution and Qatar has an abundance of hydrocarbons.

In the long run, all industries need to decarbonise and there is a potential pathway for that involving sustainable energy. The UK-Qatari energy relationship could be strengthened further as we import green hydrogen to develop the first town heated entirely by hydrogen by the end of the decade—such is the Prime Minister’s goal, detailed in his 10-point plan.

Our relationship with Qatar does not just revolve around business and economic opportunities. It also focuses on education and culture. As has been said, several UK universities have campuses in Qatar. We saw some of them. For example, University College London has signed a 10-year agreement to deliver courses to more than 2,500 students. Similarly, around 3,000 Qatari students are studying in the UK—we want more of them—who benefit from our educational systems and learn about our culture.

As well as encouraging mutual relations in the education sector, there is also collaboration in the air force. The Royal Air Force’s operational headquarters in the middle east is in Qatar, and a joint UK-Qatari squadron has been established so personnel from both air forces can train together. The generous work of Qatar Airways, which is among the best in the world, has helped 100,000 British citizens reunite with their families during the early stages of the pandemic. We should not forget that.

I am very pleased that we have such a strong relationship with Qatar in many aspects of life and business. I welcome the Defence Secretary’s meeting with his Qatari counterpart in October this year to strengthen UK-Qatari defence relationships. I hope our relations with the country continue to grow. Qatar’s energy and financial investments are important to our economy and we should explore trade opportunities for green hydrogen. With our assistance, Qatar can continue to promote democratic practices and human rights advances in a country that has already recognised the importance of its population’s freedom and quality of life.

[Christina Rees (in the Chair)]

I do not think I will ever be able to forget the vision of the two camels. Shall we now call you “Two-Camels” Amess? [Laughter.]