ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani arrived in the Qatari capital Doha on Monday to offer his condolences following the passing of the Sheikhdom’s late Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (1952 - 2026).
President Barzani “arrived in Doha today [Monday] to offer condolences on the passing of the nation’s great figure, His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, may his soul rest in peace,” the state-run Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
The Kurdish president and his accompanying delegation “were received upon their arrival at Hamad International Airport by His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Thani, Minister of Transport,” as well as by Iraq’s Ambassador to Doha, Mohammed Jaafar al-Sadr, QNA added.
The late Emir of Qatar passed away on Sunday morning at the age of 74, the Sheikhdom’s top government body, the Amiri Diwan, announced in a statement.
Doha has declared four days of public mourning, with flags flown at half-mast and government offices closed. Funeral prayers were held later that evening at the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque in Doha, and he was laid to rest at the Lusail Cemetery.
Ahead of his trip to Doha, President Barzani extended Kurdistan’s “deepest condolences and sincere sympathy” to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as well as “to the esteemed family and the brotherly Qatari people, on the passing of the Father Emir.”
The Kurdish President described the late Emir Sheikh Hamad as “a prominent and distinguished leader who contributed to the development of the State of Qatar and strengthened its role at both the regional and international levels.”
“His efforts and contributions will continue to be remembered with appreciation and respect,” President Barzani said, while expressing “solidarity with the State of Qatar in this time of grief.”
