
Deputy prime minister meets Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung chairman
DOHA: Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of State for Defense Affairs HE Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Thani has met with Chairman of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and former President of the German Bundestag Dr Norbert Lammert, and his accompanying delegation, during his visit to the State of Qatar.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed topics of mutual interest and ways to enhance and develop them.
The meeting was attended by several senior QAF officers.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Germany's Merz sparks backlash by saying Israel doing ‘the dirty work' for West
dpa Berlin German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has caused a stir at home after suggesting that Israel, which launched large-scale attacks on Iran last week, was doing 'the dirty work' for the West. The remarks, made at the end of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada, drew ire from German politicians on Wednesday, including from members of Merz's coalition partner. Ralf Stegner, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), told Der Spiegel news magazine that it was 'more than strange' that 'the chancellor says that Israel is doing our dirty work for us in Iran.' He said Merz's statement suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attack against Iran 'was presumably contrary to international law.' Stegner said it was completely inappropriate for a representative of Germany to publicly express relief in light of the escalating conflict in the Middle East, with Iran having launched a number of retaliatory attacks since Israeli strikes began on Friday. Speaking at the end of a meeting of the world's seven major industrialized nations, Merz on Tuesday told German public broadcaster ZDF that Israel is currently doing 'the dirty work' for the entire West. 'I can only say that I have the utmost respect for the Israeli army for having the courage to do this, and for the Israeli leadership for having the courage to do this,' he said. While Sören Pellmann, head of the far-left The Left party in parliament, accused the German leader of 'throwing international law overboard,' Anton Hofreiter, from the opposition Greens, told broadcaster Welt TV that he thought Merz's choice of words had been 'clumsy.' Germany has been one of Israel's fiercest backers throughout the country's military campaign in Gaza. Following Israel's attacks on Iran, the conservative-led government in Berlin did not condemn the strikes but stressed Israel's right to self-defence. When confronted with the criticism in Berlin on Wednesday, Merz brushed off the comments. 'This statement has received overwhelming approval,' he said, claiming there had only been a few critical voices and refusing to comment further.


Qatar Tribune
4 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
European countries seek fresh talks with Iran over nuclear programme
Larnaca, CYPRUScColor:> Germany, France and Britain want to resume talks with Tehran over Iran's nuclear programme at short notice, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Monday. The three countries have held four meetings with Iranian leaders in recent months, and efforts to continue talks are ongoing, the minister said. Iran is currently in the midst of a severe escalation of fighting with Israel. 'We will once again make our clear position explicit there that we can only achieve a contractual settlement and avoid further military conflicts if Iran is fully prepared to refrain from using nuclear technology for military purposes,' Wadephul said during a stopover in Cyprus after a multi-day visit to the Middle East. The government in Tehran must understand the urgency of the situation, the German foreign minister argued. (DPA)


Qatar Tribune
5 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Germany sees limited financial leeway on the next EU budget
Agencies Germany wants the European Union's next seven-year budget to keep a lid on spending, according to a policy paper seen by Reuters on Saturday, with Berlin arguing members do not have room to boost the scope of their contributions. The German economy, Europe's largest, has contracted for the past two years and forecasts for 2025 are modest. That has dragged on growth in much of the bloc and meant the German government is entering the budget talks cautiously. 'For the foreseeable future, member states' financial leeway will remain limited. There is no basis for increasing the (EU budget's) volume relative to GNI (Gross National Income),' the policy paper from the bloc's biggest budget contributor says. A German government source confirmed the paper was sent to Brussels on Thursday. Negotiations are just starting on the next EU budget period from 2028 to 2034, which covers a sum of about 1.2 trillion euros. EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said last month the budget must be more flexible and focused. Budget talks are contentious within the 27-nation EU, pitting the biggest net budget contributors against poorer net beneficiaries and traditional sectors like agriculture against the need to develop cutting-edge new technologies. The German paper said the next budget should reinforce EU security and defense powers as well as competitiveness. 'The EU and its member states must assume greater responsibility for security and defense,' it said, noting that the budget must continue support for Ukraine. The document also underlined Germany's aversion to jointly issued debt, saying repayments to the so-called Next Generation EU program, a pandemic recovery scheme financed by jointly backed bonds, should begin as of 2028. 'The federal govtrejects a perpetuation of this extraordinary and temporary instrument; an extension is legally excluded,'.