President Trump, Friends. It is a great honor to join you again in Washington DC. Thank you for your continued hospitality.   And a personal thank you to Secretary Mnuchin for hosting this dinner tonight.

My visit this week will reaffirm the ideals we share, and tonight we are here to celebrate this strong economic partnership.

Our nations share a commitment to human capital, working to create resilient, knowledge-based economies with an emphasis on education, openness, and opportunity for all.

Unfortunately, there are some in my region who do not share our beliefs.  In today’s world, at times alliances have to be made with necessary partners, and certain allies are not actually friends.

But with the United States and Qatar, we are partners, allies, and friends.

Qatar and the US are working together to eradicate terrorism and its financing, wherever it may take root, to ensure a more peaceful and secure world.

We continue our mutual commitment to remain closely invested in both military and security alliance, as we are expanding Al Udeid Airbase to accommodate US troops and their families.We are also partnering with charities here like the Bob Woodruff Foundation to support veterans.

And our political cooperation in the wider region creates stability, so that economic development can flourish.

Together, our two countries continue to seek more investment opportunities to further enhance our common prosperity.

Qatar is one of the fastest growing economies in the Middle East, and American companies are a treasured part of Qatar’s success and development. We have a long history of exchanging expertise and resources in oil and gas to make both countries top energy exporters.

Our partnerships also keep growing in many non-energy sectors, one being the exciting back-to-back World Cups: Qatar in 2022 and the US in 2026.

This year, our mutual economic partnership is estimated at $185 Billion, a number which we both intend to grow. This has already created more than half a million American jobs.

And in Qatar, America is the number 1 source of imports. You should all be happy to hear that the there is a trade deficit between our countries that favors the United States.

We are looking forward to the continued partnership, alliance and friendship of our two nations, and to the health, prosperity and happiness of the people of the United States of America and Qatar.

Thank you.