In 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden designated Qatar as a Major Non-NATO Ally, a designation grants Washington’s foreign partners several benefits in areas concerning defence trade and security cooperation. 

Qatar and the United States have signed a memorandum of understanding over the enhancement of mutual civil aviation security, further strengthening the two countries’ ties.

The agreement took place in Doha on Monday between the manager of Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, Mohammed Alhajri, and U.S. Ambassador to Qatar, Timmy Davis, with the presence of Qatar’s Minister of Transport, Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti.

“Following the signing ceremony, HE the Minister of Transport met with HE the US Ambassador to the State of Qatar and discussed the two friendly countries’ relations in the areas of transportation, civil aviation, and ways to enhance and develop them,” Qatar’s news agency reported, without providing additional details on the MoU and discussions.

Qatar and the U.S. established diplomatic relations in 1972 and have since shared strategic ties.

In 2018, Qatar and the U.S. launched the annual Strategic Dialogue, bringing together Qatari and U.S. officials to address issues of mutual concern. 

The meetings often result in agreements boosting bilateral relations between the two countries. The sixth edition of the annual meeting took place in Washington in March.

The Gulf state hosts the Al-Udeid Airbase, the largest American military post in the Middle East. In January, the U.S. agreed to extend its military presence at a base in Qatar for another decade.

In 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden designated Qatar as a Major Non-NATO Ally as he met with Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The designation grants Washington’s foreign partners several benefits in areas concerning defence trade and security cooperation. 

Qatar became the third Gulf country to be added to the list of 18 current MNNA’s, which already included Bahrain and Kuwait.

Biden had noted that the designation was a recognition of Qatar’s role as a reliable ally, given its major efforts in 2021 in light of the Taliban takeover of Kabul.

At the time, Qatar and the U.S. cooperated in mass evacuations of more than 80,000 Afghans and foreigners, which became known as history’s largest airlift of people.

Beyond Afghanistan, Qatar has played several critical diplomatic efforts in issues concerning the U.S. 

In September 2023, Qatar’s mediation led to a milestone prisoner deal between Washington and Tehran that was a result of a two-year diplomatic effort.

Last December, Qatar’s mediation resulted in a prisoner exchange deal of 11 prisoners between the U.S. and Venezuela. The swap marked the largest release of U.S. prisoners in Venezuela’s history, according to the Associated Press.