U.S.’s Blinken to visit Qatar next week, meet senior officials -State Dept

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Qatar on Nov. 21-22 to launch the fifth annual U.S.-Qatar Strategic Dialogue, the State Department said on Friday, a trip that will come as the Gulf country hosts the 2022 World Cup.

“The Secretary will meet with senior Qatari officials, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani,” department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

Blinken and the Qatari officials will discuss issues including security cooperation and labor and human rights, Price added.

(Reporting by Chris Gallagher and Rami Ayyub; Editing by Mark Porter)