Qatari mediation has succeeded in bringing happy endings to many crises and problems in the region in the past years. These mediations were not limited to the Arab issue, but also extended to the brown continent and to disputes and issues in the Asian continent.
The Qatari mediation record was marked by multiple successes in this regard, as they varied, whether at the level of conflicts between conflicting countries, political groups and groups, armed groups, or opposition forces.
The reason for the Qatari successes in this direction is due to the diplomatic capabilities and the strong Qatari relations with the various parties, in addition to the importance that Qatar attaches to this aspect.
In its foreign policy, the State of Qatar adopts the principle of mediation and impartiality towards the various parties in these files.
The following are the most prominent stations in which Qatar led mediations to resolve disputes:
The release of the Bulgarian nurses in Libya 2007
Qatari efforts culminated in ending the crisis of the Palestinian doctor and the Bulgarian nurses in Libya in 2007, after a deal in which they were released after eight years in prison.
The five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor, who was later granted Bulgarian citizenship, were tried in Libya on charges of deliberately transmitting the virus that causes HIV (AIDS) to 450 Libyan children, and they were sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment before being released.
The agreement included the establishment of the "Libyan Fund for Children Affected by AIDS", to which Qatar and the Czech Republic contributed.
The fund disbursed one million dollars to the family of each of the injured children, in addition to France's pledge to equip the Benghazi hospital and train its staff for five years, in addition to training 50 other doctors.
Mediation between the Yemeni government and the Houthis 2008
The Qatari capital, Doha, hosted mediation rounds to ease the escalation and stop the tension between the Yemeni government and the Houthis, at which time the two parties signed a document containing measures to implement a reconciliation agreement.
The Yemeni government was represented at the signing of the document by Abdul Karim Al-Eryani, the political advisor to former Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and the Houthis were represented by Saleh Ahmed Ali Habra on behalf of the group's leader, Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi.
"Doha Agreement" for Lebanon 2008
On May 21, 2008, the Lebanese parties in Doha signed an agreement reached with Qatari mediation, 18 months after a political crisis engulfed Lebanon.
The "Doha Agreement" led to the election of then-Lebanese Army Commander Michel Suleiman as President of the Republic (his term expired in May 2014), the adoption of the electoral law that divided the capital Beirut into three regions, as well as the formation of a national unity government.
The armistice between the Palestinian factions and the Israeli occupation
Qatar had a prominent role in reaching a truce between the Palestinian factions and Israel during the recent wars it launched on the Gaza Strip in 2009, 2012, 2014 and 2021.
During the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip between May 10-20, 2021, Qatar, in cooperation with the international community, announced a truce between the occupation and the Palestinian resistance after 11 days of aggression.
Darfur Peace Document 2011
On July 14, 2011, Doha hosted the signing ceremony of representatives of the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement, the final document for peace in Darfur.
The signing took place after a successful Qatari mediation between the two conflicting parties, who engaged in negotiations that lasted two and a half years.
Reconciliation file between Djibouti and Eritrea 2011
After a long period of conciliatory efforts, Doha succeeded in concluding a peace agreement between the governments of Djibouti and Eritrea, to settle the border dispute between them, in March 2011.
Reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas 2012
On February 6, 2012 in Doha, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Palestinian Liberation Movement (Fatah) signed an agreement aimed at accelerating the pace of national reconciliation between them.
The agreement was signed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on behalf of Fatah movement, while Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas's political bureau at the time, signed the agreement.
Darfur Agreement 2013
With Qatari mediation, the Sudanese government, on the one hand, and the Justice and Equality Movement, on the other, reached a ceasefire agreement, in an attempt to revive the frozen peace process between them.
The agreement came in the wake of the escalation of fighting in the Darfur region, and a breach of another agreement that was also signed with Qatari mediation in 2011.
Detained nuns released in northern Syria
Qatari mediation efforts in March 2014 resulted in the release of 13 nuns detained in northern Syria at the time, in exchange for the release of more than 153 female Syrian detainees in the prisons of the Syrian regime.
These efforts bore fruit after talks since December 2013 under the directives of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to mediate for the release of the “Maaloula Nuns.”
Prisoner exchange between the Taliban and America in 2014
After negotiations mediated by Qatar in June 2014, US Army Sergeant Pau Bergdahl was released and handed over to US Special Forces in Afghanistan, in exchange for the release of five senior Taliban prisoners held in Guantánamo Bay.
Former US President Barack Obama thanked the Emir of Qatar's efforts to give him security guarantees to Washington and his contribution to facilitating the release of American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks, who had been held for more than three years by the Taliban.
The release of kidnapped Lebanese soldiers in 2015
Qatar worked to release the 16 Lebanese soldiers who were kidnapped by "Al-Nusra Front" in August 2014, and succeeded in this mission on December 1, 2015, in exchange for the Lebanese government's release of 25 prisoners. Al-Nusra demanded their release, including 17 a woman.
The Tebu and Tuareg agreement in Libya 2015
Qatar was able to play a successful mediation role between the Tebu and Tuareg tribes in Libya. On November 23, 2015, a peace agreement was signed in Doha between the two tribes, after four days of negotiations under Qatari sponsorship.
The roots of the problem between the two tribes go back to a quarrel between Tuareg security men and Tebu citizens, which escalated into armed clashes after Tubu gunmen attacked the National Security Center, which is controlled by an armed Tuareg group.
Djiboutian prisoners released by Eritrea 2016
Qatari efforts succeeded in releasing Djiboutian prisoners from Eritrea as part of a mediation between the two parties, so that the prisoners returned to their country accompanied by Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on a private plane in March 2015.
Negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban
In the context of efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan, Doha has hosted several negotiation sessions between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
In May 2015, Qatar sponsored a round of negotiations between representatives of the movement and Afghan officials with the aim of ending the war.
In May 2019, Qatar hosted a number of rounds of talks between Washington and the Taliban, in order to discuss the withdrawal of US and coalition forces from Afghanistan, which resulted in the signing of the Doha Agreement in late February 2020.
The agreement stipulated an end to the 19-year war in Afghanistan, with the withdrawal of US forces, and this came after Washington announced that it had reduced its military presence in Kabul to 4,000 out of about 13,000 previously.
Agreement between the Government of Sudan and the "Sudan Liberation Army - Second Revolution" movement 2017
On January 23, 2017, Doha hosted the signing of an agreement between the government of Sudan and the “Sudan Liberation Army-Second Revolution” movement on the occasion of the completion of the peace process in Darfur (west), according to the Doha Document.
Negotiations between Kenya and Somalia 2021
Qatari efforts resulted in ending the rivalry between Kenya and Somalia. On May 6, 2021, Kenya announced the return of their relations after a dispute that lasted about five months, after Mogadishu accused Nairobi of interfering in its internal affairs.
Negotiations on the Iranian nuclear file 2022
On June 28, 2022, the Qatari capital hosted indirect talks between the United States and Iran mediated by Europe, aimed at resolving the outstanding issues between the two sides that prevent reaching an understanding on reviving the 2015 agreement on the Iranian nuclear program.
Doha witnessed this round of negotiations in order to save the nuclear agreement, after long rounds of negotiations in the Austrian capital Vienna.