Ivanka Trump to Attend Qatar Policy Forum

Ivanka Trump, daughter of and senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, will participate this weekend in the annual Doha Forum policy conference. Accompanied by US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, the two are expected to meet regional political and business leaders. A Treasury statement added that Mnuchin would discuss “national security initiatives to combat terrorism and illicit finance.” Washington considers Doha an ally – despite the latter’s alleged ties to terrorist groups – and has about 10,000 soldiers deployed at a massive military airfield in the tiny Gulf nation. However, the bilateral relationship has been complicated by an ongoing boycott of Qatar by other Sunni-majority nations, including close US allies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. The countries in 2017 imposed a blockade on Qatar over its support for Shi’ite Iran and Islamist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, which Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Manama and Cairo have blacklisted.