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Brookings Doha Center opens |
 HE
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim speaking after opening Brookings Doha Center
as Pascual and Indyk look on
Staff Reporter
BROOKINGS Doha Center, the first branch in the Islamic world of the
Brookings Institution, one of America's oldest and largest
think-tanks, was opened in the West Bay area yesterday. HE the Prime
Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor
al-Thani inaugurated the facility, a project of the Saban Center for
Middle East Policy at Brookings.
The building of Brookings Doha Center in the West Bay area
Brookings's vice-president for Foreign Policy Carlos Pascual, Saban
Center's director Martin Indyk, Brookings Doha Center director Hady
Amr and a number of dignitaries were present on the occasion.
The Center for Public Policy Research and Current Affairs
programming is to undertake research on the socio-economic and
geopolitical issues facing the Muslim world, and encourage more
understanding between the US and Muslim policy makers.
Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister stated that the center,
a result of discussions over three years, is a very important
development on helping 'each other to understand better'.
"You will hear maybe what you cannot hear in Washington, views not
only from Qatar and the region, but from all over Asia," he told the
gathering comprising senior officials from Brookings and Saban.
Describing Qatar's relationship with the US as at an important
stage, HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said that "when you succeed we
feel that we have succeeded and when you fail we feel we have
failed."
The premier also touched upon the role of public opinion in
bilateral relationship and added that partnership between countries
has to be
open-minded.
Pascual described the opening of Brookings Doha Center as an
extraordinary opportunity to learn from one another.
Indyk said that Brookings Doha Center will seek to forge a lasting
partnership between the leading policy makers and scholars of the
US, and those of the Muslim world.
This is the second presence of the Brookings Institution outside of
Washington. A Beijing location was opened in 2006.
Qatarinfo.net/
Premier opens Brookings Doha Centre
Qatar's Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin
Jabor Al Thani opened on Sunday 17 February 2008 at the West Bay
area the Brookings Institution's Doha Centre for Public Policy
Research and current Affairs Programming in Doha.
At the outset of the opening ceremony H E the Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister gave a speech in which he thanked Brookings
Institution which made Doha and the Qatari Foreign Ministry a
partner through this institution.
He expressed the hope that the Centre would achieve the objectives
for which it was established saying Qatar wasn't interested to open
an institution carrying a big name like Brookings Institution just
because of its presence in Doha but our objective is to benefit from
that institutions and its important work.
HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani expressed confidence
that through this centre Doha and Brookings Centre could achieve a
kind of dialogue useful for both parties across the Atlantic.
He the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister praised the Qatari-US
relations describing it as historical and important.
He added that it is very important to respect the views of each
other and to work for reaching views that will enable us to deal
with issues of the region in a better way adding that to achieve
more success we have to have consultations with the region's states,
governments and peoples.
H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem added that as governments we have to
respect the public opinion, stressing that any partnership should be
based on open minds.
He said after three years of preparatory work it is time to
celebrate the inauguration of the centre which he said came as a
fruit of cooperation between the foreign ministry and Brookings
Institution to be a podium for the encouragement of the on going
dialogue between the US and the Muslim World and the conducting of
independent studies on related policies and the disseminating
information, noting that aims at improving relations between America
and Muslim communities.
Concluding, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem expressed the hope that the
centre would succeed in achieving it broad objectives, underlining
Qatar's support for its activities for the common benefit of both
sides.
On the occasion Martin Indyk, Director of Saban Center for Middle
East Policy at Brookings gave a speech in which he thanked the
Qatari Foreign Ministry for its strong support for the inauguration
of the centre, reiterating that the centre which enjoys full
independence will have big benefits for both governments and
peoples.
He said the centre will work for creating strong ties between
decision makers and academics in America and their counterparts in
the Muslim world through hosting visiting researchers from both
sides.
For his part, Carlos Pascal, Vice President and Director of Foreign
Policy Studies at Brookings also gave a speech in which he thanked
the Foreign Ministry for its support for the Brookings Doha Center,
stressing that the centre will provide an atmosphere for joint
action to serve the region's states and peoples.
The centre - a project of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at
Brookings - will undertake research on the socio-economic and
geopolitical issues facing the Muslim world, and encourage more
understanding between U.S. and Muslim policy-makers.
The new centre will contribute to scholarship and dialogue between
the United States and the Muslim world through a partnership between
one of America's oldest and largest think tanks, Brookings, and a
visionary Muslim state, Qatar.
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