VZCZCXRO8902
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHDO #1047 3101009
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 061009Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7216
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L DOHA 001047 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/ARP FOR ASHLEY BAGWELL AND SANJAY RAMESH 
USTR FOR MARK MOWREY AND JASON BUNTIN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/06/2017 
TAGS: PREL KBCT USTR QA IS
SUBJECT: QATAR-ISRAEL COMMERCE CONTINUES QUIETLY 
 
REF: DOHA 97 
 
Classified By: CDA Michael A. Ratney for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) The Israeli Trade Representation Office in Qatar 
opened in 1996 but, despite its name, focuses less on 
promoting trade than on facilitating political engagement, 
such as Shimon Peres' January 2007 visit to Qatar and various 
civil society interactions.  (Note: See reftel for more 
background on the office and its political activities). 
Nevertheless, Ambassador Roi Rosenblit, Head of Israel's 
Office, told CDA, P/E Chief, and Econoff November 1 that 
there is officially about 2 million USD in annual trade 
between Israel and Qatar.  In the past year, Qatar exported 
to Israel about 1.2 million USD of goods, mostly 
petrochemicals, while Qatar imported from Israel about 
800,000 USD of goods, mostly high-tech telecommunications 
equipment. 
 
¶2.  (C) Real trade, however, may be as much as four times 
higher (i.e., up to about 5 million USD) via third countries, 
and includes Israeli exports of agricultural goods which are 
sometimes labled in stores as coming from Egypt or Jordan. 
Some products are shipped to Qatar by air via Jordan, while 
others are generally imported by boat.  There is not very 
much visible trade in terms of public marketing of 
Israeli-origin goods in Qatar.  Rosenblit noted, however, 
that Qatar Airways had a busy office in Israel for several 
years, and "thousands" of Israeli travelers would use the 
airline to fly from Amman to other locations, particularly 
southeast Asia, via Doha.  The office closed in October, 
reportedly because of financial disagreements between the 
airline's CEO, Akbar Al-Baker, and the local business 
partner, who happened to be Mahmoud Abbas' son. 
 
¶3.  (C) Rosenblit said Qatar's policy is to admit Israeli 
visitors who obtain a visa in advance.  He indicated that 
Israeli business people do travel to Qatar, but they 
occasionally have problems obtaining a visa.  His office is 
usually able to resolve these issues via its contacts at 
higher levels of the government.  Rosenblit has not recently 
received visa applications from Qatari businessmen for travel 
to Israel, even though the office does occasionally process 
visa applications of Qatari residents of Palestinian origin. 
 
¶4.  (C) Rosenblit observed that he is generally well received 
in Qatar and has not experienced a negative reception from 
the government, diplomatic community, or others.  He 
recounted how a Palestinian restaurant owner was delighted to 
cater a recent diplomatic event as an example of how his 
personal interactions have generally been positive. 
 
¶5.  (C) COMMENT:  Qatar's seemingly contradictory policy 
toward Israel is reflected in its dual pursuit of contacts 
and trade with Israel, while hosting at the same time visits 
by Palestinian rejectionist leaders like Hamas leader Khalid 
Mish'al.  While Qatar does not have any Arab League boycott 
laws on the books or enforce a boycott, it will usually send 
an embassy observer to the Central Boycott Office meetings in 
Damascus.  Some government tender documents 
also continue to contain outdated boycott language, but a 
decree from the Minister of Finance to make the language 
current is unlikely anytime soon.  Senior GOQ officials, 
while ostensibly satisfied with the current level of 
engagement, are reticent to undertake further normalization 
absent forward movement on the peace process.  Qatar does not 
want to stray too far from the Arab fold at the expense of 
sacrificing their aspiration to be a regional mediator. 
RATNEY