Donald Trump is in Qatar for the next leg of this four-day Middle East tour, where he has signed deals on defence and aviation. Earlier, he met Syria’s President Ahmed al Sharaa – a man once imprisoned by the US. Listen to the latest episode of The World podcast below as you scroll.
Wednesday 14 May 2025 15:31, UK
One theme of Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East so far has been his propensity to dish out lavish praise for the Arab leaders he’s meeting.
Making comments just now alongside the Emir of Qatar, Trump gushed while comparing him to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who he met yesterday.
“We came from Saudi Arabia, where we have another great man over there that’s a friend of yours,” he said, addressing Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
“You two guys get along so well and like each other, you remind me a little bit of each other, if you want to know the truth. Both tall, handsome guys that happen to be very smart.”
Trump has form for this kind of flattery. A little earlier today, Trump called Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa, who he met in Saudi Arabia this morning, a “young, attractive guy”.
Following the signing of agreements on aviation and defence, the Emir of Qatar and Donald Trump give short statements.
“After signing these documents, we are going to another level of relationship between Qatar and the United States,” Sheikh Tamim al Thani says.
Trump then takes over, saying this has been a “very interesting couple of hours”.
“We discussed the world,” he says. “We discussed Russia and Ukraine, where you’ve been a tremendous help in so many different ways.
“We certainly discussed Iran, where it’s been, really, an interesting situation. I have a feeling it’s going to work out.”
On the aviation deal signed between the two countries, Trump says it’s the largest ever order of such jets, worth over $200bn for 160 Boeing jets.
Donald Trump has arrived at a signing ceremony with the Emir of Qatar.
After taking his place at the table, a speaker announces the two leaders will sign an aviation agreement to purchase jets from US Boeing.
The next agreement is on defence, which includes a statement of intent between the two countries. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth joins to sign this agreement.
Watch along at the top of this page. We’ll also be providing text updates.
While we wait for Donald Trump, we’ve just heard from the former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who says he expects the president’s visit to the Middle East to soon switch away from business and towards more political issues.
The highlight of Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia yesterday was the huge £450bn deal he signed encompassing energy, defence, tech and aerospace investments.
Surrounded by some of the heads of the biggest US businesses, all the focus appeared to be on securing investment for America and building new economic ties between the two countries.
But Robert Jordan, who served as US ambassador to Saudi Arabia under George W Bush, says Trump’s visit to Qatar today will have more political issues on the agenda than business.
“Qatar has amazing relationships,” he tells presenter Jayne Secker. “They’ve been criticised to some degree for some of these relationships, but they’re turning out to be quite valuable.
“Not just their relationship with Hamas, but more importantly, I think, with Iran.
“Qatar and Iran are business partners and [has] the world’s largest underwater gas field. They deal with each other on a daily basis. I think if we’re going to have any kind of breakthrough on the nuclear portfolio, Qatar will play a role in this.
“I think they’re also quite well positioned to assist in reintegrating, if you will, Syria – and perhaps even Lebanon – into a broader Middle East that is aiming for some degree of stability.”
Watch the full interview with Robert Jordan below.
We are beginning to see some movement at Doha’s government palace ahead of Donald Trump’s bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar.
Guests have just been told to take their seats ahead of the arrival of the two leaders.
We are expecting Trump to sign a deal, but it is unclear what it will be.
We’re still waiting for Donald Trump to arrive for an expected signing ceremony between the US and Qatar.
But while we do let’s take a look at what several members of the Trump administration have been doing as they wait.
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick hasn’t wasted time in capturing the moment with a selfie along with Qatari officials.
While treasury secretary Scott Bessent and defence secretary Pete Hegseth are waiting in their seats.
Donald Trump was greeted by Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim al Thani, as he kicked off the second leg of his three-nation Middle East tour a little while ago.
Both leaders then walked down a receiving line of representatives from each country at the Amiri Diwan, the government palace.
The ceremonial greeting also included an escort of riders on camelback.
Here are a few images from Trump’s arrival in Qatar…
We’ll soon be hearing from Donald Trump as he speaks at a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar at the Old Amiri Palace in Doha.
With chairs on either side of the room and a desk sat in the middle, the stage could well be set for another agreement akin to the one Trump signed yesterday with Saudi Arabia.
You can watch along in the stream at the top of the page. We’ll also be providing text updates.
In case you missed this when we originally shared it yesterday, it appears that Saudi Arabia went to every length possible to make Donald Trump feel right at home during his trip to Riyadh.
That seemingly stretched to providing a mobile McDonald’s truck if the US president wasn’t able to make it to one of the hundreds of existing branches already in Saudi Arabia.
Trump is well known for his love of fast food, even donning an apron and serving customers at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania during his election campaign.
Donald Trump is now in Qatar and holding talks with leader Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Here is what we know about him…
The Qatari ruler took power in June 2013 when his father stepped down.
He has in recent years served as a key mediator, particularly with Hamas, as the international community pursues a ceasefire for the Israel-Hamas war.
Qatar also served as host in the negotiations between the US and the Taliban that led to America’s 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Last month, al Thani also met Vladimir Putin for talks in the Kremlin and told him that Syria’s new leader was keen to build ties with Moscow.
The assurance came as Putin attempts to retain Russia’s use of two military bases in Syria and avoid a serious blow to its strategic influence in the region.
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