How Jamil Chad silenced Qatari leaders and suppressed criticism of foreign governments 23.11.2022 04h00

What unites Paris Saint Germain, the Empire State Building in New York, Harrods and Uber in London? All of them were Qatar’s investment targets.

While few players dare to criticize the human rights situation in Qatar, and organizations and activists are alarmed about a World Cup scandal in such circumstances, a disturbing situation is observed in many parts of the world: the shameful silence and absence of political leaders, which has become the epicenter of world attention this month. any pressure from democracies on the ground.

The reason is as simple as it is powerful: Qatar has taken its place in the world in just 20 years and has become one of the main economic players in many industries. The fate of multinational corporations, stock markets, arms manufacturers and even the real estate market in the West depends on the future of Qatar today. The World Cup is therefore only part of a broader strategy.

The engine of the transformation was gas, which catapulted Qatar into a new state. Today, the country is Europe’s largest supplier of LNG. In countries such as the UK, Italy or Belgium, Qatar represents between 45% and 67% of gas supplies today.

Today, the assets of one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds exceed the GDP of more than 160 countries worldwide. Resources managed by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will reach US$ 455 billion (R$ 2.4 trillion).

For example, the state of Qatar is currently the tenth largest landowner in the United Kingdom. Some of London’s most iconic buildings such as Canary Wharf, HSBC Tower and The Shard are also in Qatari hands. One of the commercial landmarks of the British capital, Harrods is also the capital of the Gulf country.

But it’s not just buildings that are bought. Just twelve months before the Cup, Qatar’s gifts to British MPs totaled £251,000 (R$1.6 million). The total is more than for the next 15 countries on the UK MPs donors list.

Today, 10% of the London Stock Exchange is controlled by Qatar. The country also controls 20% of Heathrow Airport and one-fifth of British Airways.

In 2019 alone, QIA poured US$44 billion (R$235 billion) worldwide. Today, investments from Qatar reach 80 countries. A third of its value would be in Europe.

In total, over US$30 billion has been invested in the USA, US$40 billion (R$214 billion) in the United Kingdom, and over US$25 billion (R$133 billion) in Germany or France.

In France, after the tax exemption agreement with Nicolas Sarkozy, Qatar even bought luxury hotels and strategic locations in Paris.

In less than 20 years, the Gulf country has used its resources to purchase key parts from traditional Western companies, including Volkswagen and Porsche. Banks such as Barclays, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank were partially spared from the 2008 and 2009 crises thanks to Qatar’s resources.

In the US, Qatar controls 10% of the Empire State Realty Trust, which owns the Empire State Building. As giant Miramax Studios also fell into the hands of the emir, QIA came to invest in Uber.

For Qatar, there are no limits to capital or influence. If investments in the US are significant, it amounts to 19% in the Russian state oil company Rosneft.

In addition to investing abroad, another measure was to become one of the West’s biggest arms buyers. Since 2010, when the trophy was awarded to a Gulf nation, the UK has seen sales of high-tech weapons explode in this small country.

In 2015, Qatar was the world’s sixth largest arms buyer, with contracts worth US$7.1 billion (R$37 billion) for the purchase of 24 Dassault Rafale fighters from France, US$2.4 billion US helicopters and missiles from Italy. .

Between 2012 and 2016, after the World Cup was awarded to Qatar, the Swedish organization Sipri stated that the Gulf country increased its arms imports by 282%. Between 2016 and 2020, the increase was 361%.