Qatar’s Emir kicked off a tour of three African nations this week with high-level meetings in Ethiopia.

This is Sheikh Tamim’s first official visit to sub-Saharan Africa, besides visiting Sudan, since he became Emir in 2013.

While in Addis Adaba yesterday, Sheikh Tamim and Dr. Mulatu Teshome discussed ways to collaborate on infrastructure, educational and economic issues, QNA reports.

Following his two-day visit there, the Emir will head to Kenya and then South Africa, which hosted the World Cup in 2010.

He is due back in Qatar this weekend to meet with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

What to discuss

All three African countries have relatively small representation inside of Qatar.

According to a 2017 population report, there are 22,000 Ethiopians living in Qatar, 14,000 Kenyans and only 6,000 South Africans.

However, speaking to the Qatar Tribune, African diplomats said that there is much to gain by collaborating with the Gulf state.

The newspaper cited the Kenyan and Ethiopian ambassadors to Doha as saying issues such as counter-terrorism, scientific research and agriculture could all be advanced during high-level talks.

Thoughts?