Qatar's 'HBJ'

I had them again? What wish them again? No? First of all, the formilities and history doesn't go back. And the second things that I think every part of your life has if you know how to use it, you'll be excited in it. And I use my life from the beginning when I was junior in the governments until I become Minister and Municipality, Minister of Electricity, Minister of Foreign Affair, Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, Prime minister.

It took me a journey of thirty years of working in the government, thirty two years actually, and for me, I think and I believe that's more than enough. I believe now I have a new chapter. I don't believe in retirement, but I believe that every age, every time of your life, there is something you can do, and you can do it and add value in your life and around you. So now you're spending a lot of time with your investment activities, which are quite extensive around

the world. I am doing that and I have my own my father and my own charity which we are also I'm involved in it and I'm pleased with it and I build it since my father died, and I think that's also for me is a very important part of my function all my life daily, especially with all the situation around us now in Syria and in Turkey, and you see this tragedy in other places. So it gives me pleasure to work in that and to do with my team. And yes, I'm doing business all over

the world. And this is not only to do business, but as I told you, to make to be a fellow which you can add value for yourself and your family. So let's talk about when you were Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. I should add you also the chairman of the QIA, the Qatar Investment Authority, so that can keep you pretty busy with all those jobs. As the head of Qatar Investment Authority, you made some very large investments

for Qatar. One of them is a Herridge with department store in London, the famous Shard building in London, investments in Volkswagen and Barclays and other things. So those investments seemed that I've worked out okay, But how did you manage being the Foreign Minister, the Prime Minister and the head of QIA at the same time. Doesn't that take a lot of time. I think it was tough for me because I was working with no weekend, and I

was working sincerely more than what I should do. And it's it's if it's a candle, it will be burned by now completely. I even in my vacation, I was working and meeting people. You know, me and I for long. We meet in my holiday and we see each others and we discuss business. It was tough, but it was a challenge because at that time we started QIA with no money literally, and we started with nothing, aiming that the gas will give us a flow of money. So

we started with loans. Actually, most of this transaction being done by loans from the banks, and thanks God, the plan work. We get a good revenue from the oil and gas. From the gas, actually oil, we have very little oil, but that revenue all went to the investment authority. As we talk today, it's been rumored in the press that Qia is looking to buy a team, very famous team in the English Soccer League Premier League, called Manchester United.

So I don't know whether that will happen. But are you surprised the interest in the Middle East about the English Premier Soccer League where there's so much interest. Many countries here seem to have investors who own teams there. Are you a big football fan yourself, David, you know that I am not football fan, And we talked about this a few times and for me, I don't believe

or I don't like this investment. Maybe it work well, but you know some of my son like this and always discuss with me why we don't invest in these things well, and then they about pushing hard. For me, I thought, this is not my step specialties. Let let me put it like this. I am an investor. If it will be one day as an investment good investment, I will think about it. But if not, I will not look at look at it as something just for

an advertisement. I'm not at that category. The World Cup when I was here, was an investment by your country, and I guess attracting people here and millions of people came was at in the end, I think a good investment or not. Clearia, let me put it this way. You know me, I am always frank. If it was my choice, it will not be done. At that time when I was in the government and Prime minister, and this idea come by His Highness Damer father and his

Crown Prince. At that time, she had temim. They know that time against that idea because I think there is a lot of money and effort will be spent. We can spend it in something else and it will be good for the people in the country. But if you ask me now, I will tell you there was a lot of outcome, positive outcome out of this. Look at the people which they visit cat and I know most of them from the business communities and people which they are active and all over the world. They came some

of them first time and they are coming again. They are bringing their family. So start working that people saying there is a place we did not see it. It's good place, and the outcome of that tournament was positive from different way. Good organized, well organized organized. Despite all the noise negative noise last ten years which we hear it about it, it come the outcome when we said

alcohol or the government decide no alcohol. We find people thinking, oh, that's good, I can take my child, my girl can go alone. Nobody can talk to her, nobody can you know there was no when incident happened. Organization was excellent and I think this is the first and the last one where you can see the matches in the same day and you don't miss any matches because how close is it? And so it was unique for the outcome was good for the country. Let's talk about your country

for a moment. The country is a very wealthy country, maybe the wealthiest country in the world per capita. Where does the wealth of the country come from. Well, the wealth of the country, as you know, came from oil and gas and mainly gas now and I think this is you know, we cannot say that we contribute in it a lot. We contribute to take it out maybe and doing the right decision with the right partner, but

that's I don't think that's an innovation. You know when when you say you are how you get your wealth. If you are a country without any resources and you do well, like Switzerland, like Japan, these countries they have no resources and right now they are their GDP is high and they are doing very well. But for us, the challenge will be, Okay, with all this wealth, what you are going to do with this wealth, how you

can preserve it for the future, That's the challenge. So when you were growing up, this was not extremely wealthy city, no country. It was not wealthy city, definitely. It was a moderate you know, at that time. If you compare the ten countries rich country, it's very very strange. In the fifties or the sixties, one of them is living on an Egypt, not you, the American not us, and that list right, and you see now how things change.

And when I first came here more than thirty years ago, there was only one building that was more than four or five stories as a hotel. Now through how it looks like Manhattan. Accept it's more modern than Manhattan in many ways. So it's a stunning example of what you can do with the wealth if you deploy it appropriately. But all these buildings, who was occupying these buildings. Are these local people or these oil companies who's occupying all

the buildings and the residences? I see now, well, I think you know it's same when you go to New York and now you find oversupplying office and in commercial. I think we have oversupply now in the market because this was a good business for everybody. So everybody was doing a building, either office or residential or retail, aiming that it will be rented by one of the companies or because there was and still there's a lot of work right now. I think the people have to study

what is surplus. And I think we have surplus in the offices and the retail, not maybe the residents the residential part, but it is it need carefully for any investors to make his own calculation. I think now we are an oversupply and we have surplus, which the effects start to be felt in the financial market. Now, when you were Foreign Minister, you were sharing around the world affair a bit, trying to solve a lot of problems,

and you did solve a number of them. One that has not yet been resolved is the one you've worked on a lot, the Palestinian issue. You have a very close relationship with many of the Palestinian leaders. Do you see any way in your lifetime or my lifetime there'll be a resolution of that issue. My dream is to see this solved and see that we live with the Israelis, the Palestini lived with Israeli in a piece full country

because they are both of them. They are talented people, the Palestinian and the jew They are talented people and one day I told them a job. If they become united or work together, we should be scared from them, both of them in my opinion. But when that's need a leadership in both sides would like to take a step. It's not a leadership in America to push them. We need a leader facilitator. Have to be United States the facilitator for that. And the Arabs very important to be

part of this. But it needs two leaders and they are not there at the moment. From the Palestinian side and from the Israeli side. We need another rabine from the Israeli side, from the Palestinian side. Abu Mazen, now he did what he did and Oslo on things. I don't want to evaluate the guy. You know his friend and I know him, but I think we need to see a new leadership which have commitment from the Palestinian side.

I don't believe to solve the problem to do Abraham things or I think this is an and a kind of I'm sorry to say this world, I think this is childish because we are talking about normalization. We have no problem with the Israelis to normalize the situation we have. We talk with Israelis daily. When I was in my office, there was having office here, even when we shut the office, we was talking to them, from the intelligence to the foreign ministers to the Prime minister. And we can talk

to them. But to do kind of build a new idea with no vision or no target peace target, I mean unreal, not just to talk. It's too early to do all this unless you have planned what to do. Because what I'm worried that within ten years, if there is nothing happened, then maybe before that we find ourselves in another anti father in the Palestinian side, and we will find the Arabs here in the street saying what

you are doing as a government. So the Abraham Accords have not been signed by Katari yet, or maybe they won't. You see, that's not likely because as you say it's not going to solve the problems that you think are important, and maybe our government sign it one day. I don't know. I'm not part of the governments, but in my opinion, I think this is tell me what we'll gain from this the relationship we have relationship. Everybody have relationship with

the Israelis. All these countries which they did the Abraham they have a relations with Israel. We don't need that. We need all of us to talk to the Israeli and tell them, look, we will do normalized business, will do embassies, will do like in the Arab Plan, which King Abdalla said, even better than that. But let us sit and try to find a solution in the ground. Now, many people in the West were surprised when there was a dispute between Saudi Arabia and UAE and Qatar a

few years ago. It's now resolved. The essence of that dispute was never that clear to people. But you think that's now way behind the countries and that it's not going to come back again. It is way behind. Come back or not come back, I don't know, but I wish not. But I think everybody learned is part of that conflicts. Everybody will learn and learn where is the red line for each country. We know they know our

red line, we know their red line. And I think that's important to know what is good now that there is a good momentum, and I want this momentum to be reflected in the GCC. The GCC is dead since twelve thirteen even when we are when I was a foreign minister, the GCC was dead last twelve thirteen years. We only use the GCC when there is Christ military Christ or we need to take a decision. You ask us to take a decision in the region and need

to be in the name of the GCC. I want the GCC to be more affected in the life of the people so they feel that they have benefit from this unity between the GCC. GCC is still it's not there. Are you worried about Iran? Many countries in the Arab world are worried about Iran. But Iran was somewhat fable to you when you had your dispute with Saudi Arabia. So is Iran not as big a concern for you as it is for Saudi Arabia. The first fear for

me is not Iran. The first fear is us in the region the way how we behave I'm in the leader, I'm not one of them. I think if we can control our happiness and our frustration and when we are angry, to put it as a statement in a box and say, okay, we work. We have some difference with X country or that, but this different have to be discussed in a civilized way. And also to look, okay, if we have challenges, and if we agree Iran is our first enemy, how we

can deal with this matter? Are we going to deal with it through direct negotiation? Through war? Which is nobody wants war because that's not in our benefit. The problem that this decision is not with us because we are not in the position at the moment because of what I said about the JCCY to take that leadership for our region and say, okay, we have problem with Iran, we sit with them and discussed details frankly and reach

a solution. Because I believe we should live in the Gulf Area in a harmony between Iran, Iraq and the GCC countries. If we can do that, I think this is a big achievement, not only for the peace, for the trade, for the business, for the economy of that all of this. They have over one hundred million people, and the Iraq have like forty million people. We have like fifty million people. You know, you are talking about two hundred, two hundred and fifteen million people, rich country

with oil. When you were Foreign minister for twenty years or so, you dealt with a lot of great leaders I assume around the world where they're one or two years were really memorable to you. You said, this person really is an extraordinary leader. And I really learned a lot from that person. There is many leaders I met in my life, from Japan, China till the United States. I see all of them, and I saw the head

of state of all of them. But to have a person's there is a few guys which I met and either you are impressed by how they are clever or how they can manage. And I want to put it in a manage position, and I think one of them is King fat so he can manage the situation internally and externally in a way. Good. Do I agree with all his policy? No, he doesn't also agree with all

our policy. That's but I think he's one of the leader and the leader which I respect or for his country or what he's doing in term of far Fat, and how he handled the situation with Israeli. That all almost it's like a movie. It needs a big not a series of movies. How he dealt with every problem with the Israelians, because I was part of you know of that with him, and how he you know, maneuver through the things. I don't agree with all what he do,

but he was doing it. King of Morocco, King Hassan is also a guy which I respect a lot as a leader in the Arab world. So in the United States, you met with a number of presidents. Let's say, I guess President Clinton, George Bush the Father until the last, until I know Biden, and I know even Triumph, So I know all of them. Didn't you ever have a hard time getting a she or US president or I think when you were in you were saying I'm coming over. Depends.

It depends. Sometimes if they are upset from us, it is hard. And sometimes if they are not upset from us, yes, I see them in the White House, and that's always it happens. When Al Jazeira is part of the problem, I have to say. The best relation we have at that time with the President Clinton, and he's a great guy. He's a great guy. How he can manage the situation. When you were foreign minister and prime minister sometimes would come to talk to you about investment matters, and I

would see other well known investment people coming over. Before before I am, before I'm a prime minister, and before I was for the investment we was doing private you know, as as a private client. I was with you. You're right, so, but how did you juggle? You have? You have a prime minister coming to see you, a foreign minister, an investment person. You have to change your brain for all these different people coming in. It was your more have been working seven days a week to do all that.

For me, it was not. It was tough, but I was used to work for long hours, so it was not. In the end the last two years I felt inside deep me that I hit the job. I just want to leave. And this is maybe I see it lately in some programs that I was suggesting to the Emir two years before we left together, that I want to do you and the emiror both retirement more or less the same time. Exactly. Very often it's hard to give

up power voluntarily. People lose elections, but here they don't have elections, So you were voluntarily decided to step back from that position with the emir? Was it hard to give up that much power? And you're happier now than you were then? I am happier, definitely. And if this is sincere, if somebody go and take me back, I don't want to do what I was doing. It's done, It's enough. I did what I did right wrong. I did it at that time. I think I did more

right things than wrong things. But also I did things in space of time, very short time. I did a lot of things achievement, I think, which I'm happy for me. The world now so slow right and decision that I will not be part I cannot see myself to go and do that, all right. If somebody is watching and they say I don't know much about Gatar, what would you say? You would want people to know about your country? And I think our culture is something need to be seen.

People what they know about us? They know about oil and gas please rich people, or they know about our camel. We are proud about our camel, and we are also happy about the gas. But they have to see the other this guy, which he owned the camel and own the oil and gas? Is he capable? Is he did well with what he have? And that's the proof you can see it in front of you. You consider an

incredible career in business, investments, diplomacy. What would you like to see your legacy by or is your legacy going to be your children? First? I want to be seen as a human being, Katie human. I am proud about this country, about my country more than what anybody think. And I'm so attached even I'm traveling a lot now, but I'm attached to this thing. So I'm proud that I'm Katie. Second things, one of my legacy is my charity, which I'm building it very rapidly. That's something I need

to leave it for my children. The third things, I need my children to work together and that's very difficult and I need to set an example for the families in Katar and other agents how the children, despite their different education, different ideas, how they can work together as one unity. That's a big challenge for me. Thanks for listening to hear more of my interviews. You can subscribe and download my podcast on Spotify, Apple or wherever you listen