Qatar, main beneficiary from the war, offers Ukraine $100mln
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The gift comes at a time when Doha has greatly benefited from the conflict and has been a major natural gas supplier to Europe.
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Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal speaking during a media conference on September 5, 2022 (AP)
Following the visit of Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani to Kiev on July 28, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal declared that Qatar would give $100 million in humanitarian relief to his country, as reported by The Cradle.
"This money will be channeled for reconstruction in the health and education sectors, humanitarian de-mining, and other important social and humanitarian projects," Shmyhal told a briefing.
On his first trip to Ukraine since the start of the war against Russia, Sheikh Mohammad also met with President Volodymyr Zelensky to talk about food security around the world and the recently-expired Black Sea grain agreement.
"We appreciate this visit and consider it an important manifestation of Qatar's support and solidarity with our country. We are sincerely grateful for all the assistance received from Qatar," Zelensky said.
The grain agreement, mediated by Turkey and the UN in July 2022, provided that grain from both Russia and Ukraine could still be exported despite Western-imposed sanctions and that grain from Ukraine could continue to be exported from its southern Black Sea ports.
Read more: Turkey launches new route for Russian oil to EU
The agreement was reached amid worries that a halt in Russian and Ukrainian grain shipments would drive up food prices on the global market, triggering humanitarian catastrophes in underdeveloped nations.
On July 17, Russia announced its withdrawal from the accord, stating that the UN and Ukraine had not upheld their end of the bargain.
The Ukraine Recovery Plan and the Ukrainian Peace Formula were two more topics that Sheikh Mohammad and Zelensky discussed. According to the Office of the Presidency of Ukraine, Zelensky stressed the chances for Qatari investment funds and business circles to take part in the restoration of Ukraine.
The conflict in Ukraine has had a big positive impact on Qatar. US and EU sanctions prevented Russia from supplying natural gas to Europe, which drove up costs and made Qatar a significant alternative natural gas supplier.
Read more: Qatar signs $1.5 billion deal with TotalEnergies for LNG expansion
Late in November, contracts were inked by QatarEnergy and ConocoPhillips to send 2 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to Germany every year, as of 2026.
Liquefied natural gas from Qatar is now in high demand in Europe as a result of a $30 billion initiative that Qatar launched to increase exports by 60 percent by 2027.
According to Bloomberg, some analysts questioned whether there would be enough natural gas demand to support the expansion plan prior to the commencement of the Ukraine crisis.
