Iran, Russia, Qatar discuss gas cooperation

21 October 2008

Tehran-Iran, Qatar and Russian senior officials in energy field began their first tripartite meeting for gas cooperation on Tuesday.

The meeting is being attended by Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari, his Qatari counterpart Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah and senior executive director of Russia's Gazprom company.

The meeting aimed to develop trilateral cooperation, enhance level of economic and political ties and make efforts to rationalize natural gas price in global market.

Participants of the meeting focused on identifying mutual viewpoints and interests and potentials for cooperation of the three countries as well as drawing an outlook for their cooperation in the field of natural gas cooperation.

They also discussed ways to expand strategic cooperation among Iran, Qatar and Russia in regional and international markets and assist each other in the target markets in light of geopolitical and geographical considerations.

They studied ways to employ the existing infrastructures for production, transport and export of natural gas and sharing infrastructures with reasonable tariffs.

Investing in development of regional and international gas fields, producing and marketing for the natural gas was another major issue discussed by the Iranian, Russian and Qatari officials.

They also proposed to set up a center for financial affairs of the three nations cooperation in Doha, Qatar, a technical center in Tehran and a market survey center in Moscow, Russia.

The tripartite meeting also decided to form a joint cooperation committee for coordinating establishment of the three centers and their operation.

Further Reading:
Oil prices expected to average Dlrs 63 next year

Int'l conference on religion opens

13 October 2008

Tehran-World dignitaries opened international conference on 'Religion in Modern World' in Tehran on Monday.

The two-day conference will address the issue of how religious and political leaders can cooperate to promote peace by protecting human rights, moral and religious values, diversity and coexistence in pluralistic, modern societies.

Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, former Norwegian prime minister Bondevick, former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi, former French prime minister Lionel Jospin, former Swiss president Joseph Deiss, former Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio, former Irish president Mary Robinson, former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga and former UNESCO director general Federico Mayor as well as several other scholars are attending the two-day confab.

Former president Mohammad Khatami addressed the inaugural session of the conference this morning.

Sampaio, UN high representative for Alliance of Civilizations, will also address the conference organized by Khatami.

Iraq's top Sunni cleric and head of the Association of Muslim Scholars (C) arrives for the sixth annual Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Conference organized by the Jerusalem International Foundation in the Qatari capital Doha, on 12 October 2008.

Ahmadinejad officially welcomes Qatari emir

21 August 2008

Tehran-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday officially welcomed Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

Al-Thani arrived in Tehran this morning on a day-long official visit at the head of a high-ranking delegation for talks with senior Iranian officials.

Ahmadinejad and al-Thani are scheduled to exchange views on the latest regional and international developments immediately after the welcome ceremony.

Iran's First Vice-President Parviz Davoudi, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and senior presidential advisor Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi were also present at the ceremony held at the Presidential Office.

The Qatari Emir was welcomed at Tehran Mehrabad International Airport by Mottaki.

Eastern New Orleans gets new adult clinic

Tulane site to help fill health care gap

18 August 2008
By Jennifer Evans

A new primary medical care center for adults and geriatric patients will open soon in eastern New Orleans.

The Tulane Community Health Center New Orleans East at 4626 Alcee Fortier Blvd., Suite D, will offer primary and preventative care to patients older than 18 starting Aug. 25; it expects to add obstetrics and gynecology later this year.

Plans for the health center were scheduled to be announced in a news conference today.

The center will have six examination rooms and will be staffed by a doctor, a licensed nurse practitioner and supporting office workers, and will operate Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Once the center is up and running, operating hours will be extended, said Karen DeSalvo, vice dean for community affairs and health policy at Tulane University.

The clinic is expected to handle 500 patient visits every month, she said.

"This is part of our bigger strategy to make primary care available to people in New Orleans, irrespective of their ability to pay," DeSalvo said. "We will see everybody."

The health center is a partnership between Tulane and Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corp., an organization instrumental in the rejuvenation of health care services in the area after Hurricane Katrina.

Last month, Mary Queen of Vietnam partnered with Children's Hospital of New Orleans to start a Kids First Clinic in eastern New Orleans to help meet the need for pediatric care in the neighborhood.

The community group worked with Tulane to secure a location that was familiar and accessible before the storm, said Diem Nguyen, Mary Queen of Vietnam health clinic project manager. The new adult health center is across the street from the neighborhood's new pediatric clinic and next door to a pharmacy, she said.

A $1.4 million donation from the Qatar Katrina Fund given to Tulane to help meet hurricane victims' health care needs will cover two years of operating expenses for the clinic, DeSalvo said.

US Treasury chief: no 'quick fix' on oil

1 June 2008

DOHA, Qatar -U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says there is "no quick fix" to high oil prices because it is an issue of supply and demand.

"I don't see a lot of short-term answers" on high oil prices, he told reporters Sunday during a visit to the tiny Gulf nation of Qatar. There is "no quick fix."

On other issues, Paulson said it was up to Gulf countries currently struggling with high inflation whether they wanted to de-peg their currencies from the dollar. He called it a "sovereign decision."

Qatari Diar to build $350m West Bank township

29 May 2008

Doha - Qatari Diar, Qatar Investment Authority's real estate arm, is all set to build Palestine's first planned community between Ramallah and Nablus on the West Bank for $350m.

Called Rawabi, or hills in Arabic, the upcoming town will consist of 5,000 affordable houses and will ultimately be home to over 40,000 people.

The site for the new community is situated nine kilometres north of Ramallah, an area currently under the control of the Palestinian Authority (Mahmoud Abbas Terrorists Organization).

The project will be developed and managed by Bayti, which is owned by Qatari Diar and Massar International, a holding company headquartered in Ramallah with real-estate development as its core business activity.

Qatari Diar has provided additional capital and, together with Massar International, will develop and construct the town.

Qatari Diar CEO Ghanim bin Saad Al Saad told a news conference yesterday the firms were committed to the advancement of the Palestinian economy and the welfare of the Palestinian people.

"Building Rawabi will create thousands of job opportunities as well as the chance for ordinary Palestinians to own their own home," he said.

Al Saad said the project had evoked a good response from both Qatari and Palestinian business communities and he was confident of its success.

He said it was encouraging that some 2,200 ownership applications have already been registered for the housing units, which underscores the great interest attached to the project.

Qatari Diar is also keen to carry out other projects in Palestine, in the industrial, health and education fields.

Qatari Diar’s Palestinian project: An artist’s impression of Palestine's first planned community between Ramallah and Nablus on the West Bank.

The construction phase of the Rawabi project will span five years and is expected to create some 10,000 jobs, according to Massar International Chairman Bashar Masri.

"Our primary goal in this project is to create job opportunities and develop the Palestinian economy," he said Masri.

He said the Rawabi project has moved from the drawing board to the implementation phase and the organizational structure will start to take shape by June.

The $350m project cost will cover the core of the town, but a master plan for a much larger area is being worked out which will ultimately bring the total investment in Rawabi within four to five years to over $1bn.

He said the financing would be sourced from average entrepreneurs. "We will open the doors for others to get involved, including small entrepreneurs, medium sized companies. Most Palestinian companies are relatively small and medium size. We will give them an opportunity through our master plan to get in and open up their businesses."

The current estimated housing shortfall in the West bank is greater than 200,000 units, a figure which increases roughly 10 percent every year. Masri said the absence of large-scale housing projects in the West Bank together with high prices for housing and limited land available for housing have created an acute housing shortage.

Within Ramallah, the demand for new homes is skyrocketing and along with it, rental rates and land prices.

The town of Rawabi is designed to attract Palestinians seeking affordable housing in a well-zoned, accessible environment.

When the town is fully built, it will feature more than 5,000 apartment and town home units housing up to 25,000 residents.

Additional residential and commercial units slated for subsequent construction phases will ultimately serve a town with a population of 40,000.

US, Israel unable to prevent positive developments

27 May 2008

Tehran-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Washington and Tel Aviv are unable to prevent positive developments in the region.

He made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani.

The president reiterated that the regional states can settle the existing problems through unity and solidarity.

Underlining the need for safeguarding the agreement brokered by the Qatari leadership and Secretary-general of the Arab League Amr Mousa between the Lebanese political parties, he said the enemies are trying to make more mischiefs in the region.

"The Lebanese developments and the Doha agreement created new conditions and good opportunities for the regional nations," Ahmadinejad noted.

Stressing that Qatar can play a more constructive role in the region, he said, "The Doha meeting was a good experience for settlement of regional issues through regional countries." Ahmadinejad further underscored the need for support of all Islamic states for the oppressed nation of Palestine.

On Tehran-Doha friendly relations, he expressed his satisfaction with the "growing trend of bilateral cooperation".

The Qatari premier appreciated Iran's constructive role in helping create consensus among Lebanese political parties and the success of the Doha meeting.

The success of the Doha meeting dissatisfied Washington, he said, adding, "Today, this is evident that the US is not in favor of the nations, therefore, the regional states should, through cooperation, settle the problems in their own region."

Expressing his concern over the critical situation in the occupied Palestinian lands, al-Thani called for dispatch of food supplies and medicine to the Palestinian people.

He then called for further expansion of Tehran-Doha cooperation in all areas.

Jewish FM Tzipi Livni Visits Qatar

Jewish Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is greeted by Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Ben Khalifa Al Thani during a visit on 14 April 2008 in Doha, Qatar.
Jewish Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni meets with Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Ben Khalifa Al Thani during a visit on 14 April 2008 in Doha, Qatar.

Livni to discuss Shalit deal in Qatar

Foreign minister to leave for Doha on Sunday for meetings with senior Arab officials, in bid to advance deal for kidnapped soldier's release. Foreign Ministry refuses to discuss visit despite reports in Arab media

8 April 2008
by Roni Sofer

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will leave Sunday for a three-day visit to Qatar in a bid to advance the deal for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. As part of the visit, Livni will work to strengthen the Gulf states' front against the Iranian nuclear program.

Contrary to a report by the Qatar-based al-Jarida newspaper on Tuesday, the foreign minister is not expected to meet with Syrian officials during her visit.

The Foreign Ministry has so far refrained from discussing the issue for security reasons, but reports in the Arab media Tuesday revealed the upcoming visit.

During her visit to Doha, Livni is expected to hold a series of personal meetings with Arab foreign ministers and parliament members attending a convention in the Qatari capital.

The foreign minister also expected to discuss the crisis between Israel and the al-Jazeera network, on the backdrop of an Israeli boycott following claims of a one-sided coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by the Qatar-based station.

Livni is known to have good relations with the Qatari government, and particularly with Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the prime minister and foreign minister, with whom she has met several times in the past.

In October 2006, Livni called off her participation in a UN convention in Doha, following the arrival of two Hamas lawmakers.

Sources at the foreign minister's office confirmed the upcoming Qatar visit but refused to add further details.