Sheikh Mohammed is in Singapore on an official three-day visit, marking the first such trip to the Asian country in his current role as Qatar’s prime minister.

Qatar’s prime minister took on the role of small states in a pool of big powers amid a competitive world during a powerful lecture delivered at Raffles Hotel in Singapore on Friday, detailing how Doha has been able to carefully balance diplomacy between conflicting powers like the United States and China.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani pointed to small but influential states like Qatar and Singapore, asserting Doha’s foreign policy stems from its impartial approach to political sticking points.

“Qatar strongly believes in that both countries like Singapore and Qatar, we decide to be with the principles not to choose sides and that’s what our foreign policy is centred around,” said the top Qatari official during the inaugural ‘Small states: Strategic for success in a competitive world’ lecture.

Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the Gulf nation’s foreign minister, highlighted the unique role that small states can play in conflict resolution.

“Small states are at times better positioned to play a critical role in resolving conflicts because small states are often more affected by geo-strategic competition, heightened tensions and economic insecurity. We must be resilient and positively engage whenever and wherever possible. Leaders of small states must be prepared to face these challenges,” he said. “

“Not as a passive onlooker but as an active participant in building peace and stability.”

He also said smaller nations must proactively engage on the global stage, assert their viewpoints clearly, and uphold the international order and the rule of law “which holds significant importance in protecting our interests and fostering stability, working together has never been more important.”

The speech in Singapore also underlined the heightened tensions and economic uncertainty prevailing in today’s world, underscoring the necessity for resilience and proactive engagement.

At the heart of his message laid the importance of global cooperation.

“Leaders of small states must be prepared to face challenges as active participants, not as a passive onlookers but as active participant in building peace and stability,” Sheikh Mohammed emphasised.

The lecture shed light on Qatar’s successful strategy of alliance-building and multilateralism, stressing that these principles are fundamental to Qatar’s foreign policy. He highlighted three main areas that Qatar continues to strive in.

“As facilitator of dialogue and as an agile mediator in the global conflict, Qatar succeeds in such engagements by focusing our efforts on three main areas: alliance building and multilateralism, peace facilitation, and investment in economic growth for future generations,”

“Qatar also focuses on peace facilitation to strengthen international peace and security,” he said.

“This has been one of the key pillars of our foreign policy for more than 25 years.”

“For the longest time, we have looked at small states as countries that are limited in their size. But today, looking at successful examples of small states such as Singapore and Qatar, we see how small states use the tools and strategies at their disposal to become successful actors in the international community,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“History shown us that size does not dictate favourable outcomes. Through planning, fostering global partnership and nurturing our inherent strengths, small nations will not only succeed but also inspires others to do so.”

He further noted Doha’s commitment to preserving and empowering multilateral frameworks, advocating for a rules-based international order, and fostering effective collaboration with international and regional bodies.

Drawing similarities and connections between Qatar and Singapore, Sheikh Mohammed highlighted the significance of these small countries on a grander scale.

“Just like Singapore being a small country, gives us a lot of advantages in agility, mobility and building networks,” he noted.

Small states, big politics

Addressing a pivotal aspect of Qatar’s international diplomacy, Sheikh Mohammed emphasised the nation’s ability to balance relationships between major powers despite its small size.

Pointing to a major testament to such approach, he highlighted Doha’s commitment to the interdependence of the global community and its service as a foundation for maintaining a robust commercial partnership with China while upholding a strategic alliance with the United States.

“I am often asked about how Qatar has been able to balance between these two big powers as a small state,” the Qatari official said.

“In the same year, we were designated as a non NATO ally to the US, we also signed three new energy deals with China.”

“Our ability to navigate our relations with China and the US is grounded in our adaptability, diplomatic engagement and pursuit of mutually beneficial interests,” he added.

“Small states are at times better positioned to play a critical role in resolving conflicts because small states are often more affected by geostrategic competition, heightened tensions and economic insecurity,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“We must be resilient and positively engage whenever and wherever possible.”

Milestones for Qatar

Meanwhile, the top official also highlighted Qatar’s successful endeavours over the years, stretching from politics to sustainability and energy.

“We are a young country guided by a leader who is recognised around the world as an ambitious and forward looking, using the wealth we generated, we invested in our country and our people,” the Qatari prime minister said.

“Our successful organisation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup constituted a major feat for a small state.”

“Not only did the did the tournament present an opportunity for sustainable infrastructure building and substantial economic growth, but it also showcased Qatari Arab and Muslim culture and the region to positively change the stereotypes,” he added.

He also pointed to Qatar’s very nature of being a regional hub for multilateralism through opening numerous United Nations offices in Doha. “We launched the UN House last March which includes 12 UN offices to maximise our impact at the multilateral level.”

Speaking on the latest breakthrough between the decades-old foes, Sheikh Mohammed said regarding Iran, “we reached an agreement with the US, becoming the key mediator in the recent prisoner swap deal and in opening financial channels for humanitarian purposes that will help in resolving long lasting issues.”

“A step that we hope will lead to a wider dialogue on the nuclear issue.”

Earlier this month, officials revealed how Qatar engaged in on of its heaviest diplomatic efforts to mediate between Tehran and Washington.

Acting as intermediaries between the two sides over the past two years, Qatari diplomats have worked diligently to help bridge the gap and facilitate an elusive agreement between the Islamic Republic and the US.

Qatar’s shuttle diplomacy had helped work towards an agreement to conduct a milestone prisoner exchange that has seen five Americans detained in Iran released on house arrest.

Addressing yet another one of Qatar’s major watershed moment in its mediation foreign policy, the Qatari prime minister raised the topic of Afghanistan and how it helped bring an end to a deadly two-decade US invasion, during which at least 71,000 civilians were killed.

“In August 2021, we succeeded in mediating between Taliban and the United States which resulted in the end of a war that spanned more than two decades,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“Qatar played a critical role in one of the biggest humanitarian airlift in the recent history, successfully evacuating more than 80,000 individuals through Qatar.”

Let’s talk Qatar and Singapore

Drawing parallels, the prime minister lauded Singapore’s diplomatic navigation amidst complex geopolitical dynamics.

“We also established Qatar Investment Authority which plans on investing in Qatar’s future through projects that are diversified spanning across the globe, the global market sectors and geographies,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“And because of the importance attached to driving economic strategy in your region, Qatar has set up its own Qatar Investment Authority regional hub here in Singapore.”

The official made note that current investments in Singapore focus on real estate, sports and health care but said more areas are being looked at for potential tapping into.

Singapore is also one of Qatar’s long lasting customers, he said.

“When it comes to energy, we recently signed an agreement to deliver up to 1.8 million tons of LNG per annum for 10 years, which will create a secure supply of energy for Singapore at a competitive price while strengthening its role as a global energy trader.”

During his visit to the Asian country, Sheikh Mohammed and his Singaporean counterpart Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong observed the ceremonial signing of several memoranda of understanding and collaboration agreements between both sides.

This included an MoU focusing on cooperation in social development and family matters, marking the inauguration of the initial executive programme for educational collaboration.

Another MoU was signed between Qatar’s Research Development and Innovation (QRDI) Council and Singapore’s Public Utilities Board (PUB).

Officials also signed an MoU centred on initiatives for digitising small and medium-sized enterprises, alongside an MoU between Qatar’s Investment Promotion Agency (IPA Qatar) and Singapore’s Enterprise Singapore.