Qatar has officially inaugurated a 7,4 billion dollar port built with the aim of "breaking the chains" represented by the boycott initiated three months ago by Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. Operating since December, Port Hamad, located on Qatar's southeastern coast, about an hour's drive from the capital Doha, is an important platform for the country hit by an air and land embargo from its more powerful Gulf neighbors. "This is an access intended to break the shackles imposed on Qatar," Transport Minister Jassem bin Seif al-Salliti said in his inaugural address. "Nothing will stop us from stopping our ambitions," he added. The country's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who has rarely appeared in public since the start of the crisis, was present at the inauguration but did not speak. The ceremony lasted an hour and was broadcast on Qatari TV channels. Hamad will be the largest port in the emirate and will provide commercial access to some 150 countries, including connections to the regional ports of Oman and Kuwait and to others further afield in Turkey, India and Pakistan.
