President Petro met with the Emir of Qatar in Doha: they discussed the reconstruction of Gaza, talks with the Gulf Clan, and mediation with Trump.

With announcements of support for the reconstruction of Gaza, President Gustavo Petro concluded his tour of three Middle Eastern countries this weekend.

The tour concluded in Doha, Qatar, where the president met yesterday with Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. According to the head of state, they discussed the situation in Palestine and Qatar's mediation in the talks with the Gulf state. During the meeting, the president even proposed that Qatar mediate to de-escalate the conflict with the Trump administration.

“I propose mediating to de-escalate the conflict with Trump. We are the most successful government in the world in seizing cocaine,” Petro stated.

During the meeting, the president reiterated his interest in Colombia contributing to the reconstruction of Gaza, both in infrastructure and in strengthening the social fabric. He also expressed the country's willingness to contribute its expertise in developing prosthetics for child survivors and to advance peacebuilding by convening a World Peace Conference.

"The emir highlighted the impact of the President's stance on Palestine and reiterated his support for the peace processes in Colombia, including efforts for the peaceful dismantling of the Gulf Clan," the Presidency reported.

Gustavo Petro's government opted for Qatar as the setting to open a peace table with the 'Gulf Clan', considered the largest criminal group with the greatest territorial control in Colombia (2,675 armed men and 4,876 in support networks, for a total of 7,551 members).

In September, Álvaro Jiménez, head of the Government delegation, was seen shaking hands with Luis Armando Pérez Castañeda, alias Bruno, under the gaze of an official from the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

The choice of venue for the negotiations is no coincidence. Qatar, a small Arab state in the Persian Gulf, has hosted important peace processes and acted as a mediator in conflicts such as those in Sudan, Afghanistan, and even in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas. Therefore, the selection of Doha as the venue can be interpreted as an attempt to bolster the process with a mediator of international renown.

Following his meeting with the Emir, President Petro met with Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. "The meeting explored the possibility of promoting the teaching of Arabic in Colombian schools, especially in the Caribbean region," stated the Presidential Palace.

A day earlier, in statements to the Arab television network Al Jazeera, the President announced that Colombia would send volunteer doctors from the Military Hospital with experience to provide humanitarian aid in Gaza.

“We are going to bring volunteer doctors from the Military Hospital of Colombia, who have experience because of what we have lived through in the long 70-year conflict in Colombia that has left many children orphaned and people without limbs,” he said.

The president assured that a woman will be appointed as manager of the Military Hospital who will be in charge of coordinating this task and invited doctors in general to join.

In addition to Qatar, the head of state visited Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In Egypt, he met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, with whom he discussed free elections in Gaza. “We talked about the new transitional government for the reconstruction of Palestine, about free elections throughout Palestine and throughout Israel. We need to overcome the hostage crisis and the violence so that we can begin the true peace process, which consists of the establishment of two states: Israel and Palestine, with the 1967 borders,” Petro commented.

He also indicated that they discussed the role of the United States. “We talked about how the Trump administration can begin a genuine peace process by recognizing the State of Palestine. We discussed the unity of the Palestinian people in their diversity and of the Arab people. We talked about uniting Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Arab world at a conference in Bogotá,” he stated.

Finally, he announced his intention to award the Cross of Boyacá to four Palestinians. These are Mohamed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital; journalist Aya Abutaqiya, sitting among the ruins of Gaza, whose husband and one of her three children were killed; Mahmoud Zaiter, an artist and activist known in Gaza as the Minister of Happiness; and Mohamed Al-Daalasa, a victim while serving as a volunteer.

JUAN PABLO PENAGOS RAMÍREZ