Qatar says ‘no alternative to diplomacy’ as Belgium and Rwanda restore ties

Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari says Doha will keep pushing for diplomacy to end crises around the world from Africa’s Great Lakes region to the Gulf.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, al-Ansari welcomed the restoration of ties between Belgium and Rwanda, 18 months after they expelled each other’s diplomats over the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the two countries thanked Qatar for facilitating their first talks in June 2025, which al-Ansari said led to further diplomatic rapprochement between them.

Al-Ansari said Qatar has long been involved in the Great Lakes region, including mediating between the DRC, Rwanda and the M23 armed group and hosting the June 2025 talks in Doha.

“It was a breakthrough meeting between the two foreign ministers, who hadn’t met for a while, addressing a lot of underlying issues,” he said.

He said Belgium and Rwanda trusted Qatar because of its record of working with both countries.

“This is the way we usually do it. We provide the platform, we provide our trustworthiness, we get the parties involved and then we hope that that trajectory would move in its own right,” he said.

On Tuesday, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani told the UN General Assembly in New York that as a mediator, Qatar has always sought to resolve disputes through dialogue and negotiations and “reach just and fair solutions grounded in international law”.