DOHA, QATAR — Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni made her first visit Sunday to an Arab nation that does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, arriving in Qatar for talks on Mideast peace and Iran.
Qatar’s leader, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifah al-Thani, invited Livni to give the keynote speech at Monday’s 8th annual Doha Forum on Democracy, Development and Free Trade, said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel. She will also meet one-on-one with Qatari leaders.
“They are among the moderates and they support the peace process, so it’s important to go when they invite us,” Mekel said.
Livni’s speech is expected to focus on advancing Mideast peacemaking and encouraging moderate Arab nations to stand up to the Iranian nuclear threat, Mekel said.
Qatar, an energy-rich Gulf state, has low-level trade relations with Israel but no formal diplomatic ties. It supports the Palestinian movement Hamas but also hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Central Command for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Livni landed in the Qatari capital of Doha Sunday afternoon and attended the forum’s opening ceremony. She is to give her speech Monday evening.
Qatar has established itself as a regional peace-broker in recent years.
The small nation has repeatedly called on the United Nations for Israeli-Palestinian peace, and in February it publicly offered to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
Livni has met with Qatari leaders at the United Nations, but this will be her first meeting with them in Qatar. The only other Arab states Livni has visited are Egypt and Jordan, which have peace treaties with Israel.
She is the highest-ranking Israeli official to visit Qatar since Shimon Peres went to Doha for a television debate last year as deputy prime minister. Peres currently serves as Israel’s ceremonial president.
