Ivanka Trump visits US Air Base in Qatar to thank troops

President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump continued her Qatar tour by visiting a US Air Base in Doha. The Senior White House adviser interacted with US soldiers stationed that the Al Udeid Air Base to thank them for their service to the country.

Ivanka first arrived at the Middle Eastern country on Saturday along with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Daily Mail reported. She visited the airbase on Sunday and gamely posed with the troops for photo ops.

“It was an honor to visit Al-Udeid Air Base, the largest US military installation in the Middle East, to thank the brave men and women who keep America safe,” Ivanka captioned the photos, which she posted to her Instagram and Twitter accounts. “Aim High, Fly-Fight-Win! God bless you and Merry Christmas!”

Earlier, Ivanka Trump attended the Doha Forum where she promoted her women's economic empowerment initiative, the Washington Examiner reported. With the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiation, she aims to break down economic barriers imposed on women in some Middle Eastern countries.

But unlike other visiting high profile figures, Ivanka did not allow journalists to interview her. Instead, she was interviewed by a member of Trump’s administration, which did not escape the attention of the media.

“Ivanka being interviewed by *State Dept PR person*, a former Fox News contributor, at the #DohaForum. Never quite seen anything like it,” Buzzfeed Editor in Chief Ben Smith tweeted.

“Other, higher-ranking figures, including the Malaysian PM and Turkish foreign minister, did tough interviews with journalists,” Smith added.

There were also those who noted that the questions posed to Ivanka were too easy. For instance, she was asked “You did something so important with the president, tell me more about that,” which led her to talk more about her advocacy.

Ivanka’s Qatar visit was her first back to the Middle East since a couple of years ago. Previously, she visited Saudi Arabia with her Donald Trump back in 2017, which was also his first foreign trip as the POTUS.

Around 10,000 members of the U.S. military are stationed at the airbase which Ivanka visited. The military base is also the U.S.’biggest in the region.