Qatar’s top intelligence official has been awarded a medal from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for his role in strengthening intelligence cooperation with the United States.

State Security Agency chief Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Khulaifi received the George Tenet medal from CIA Director Bill Burns earlier this week, according to US media outlet Axios.

Burns gave al-Khulaifi the award in “appreciation of his role in maintaining national and regional security” between the two allies in the Gulf region, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two sources.

Al-Khulaifi was also honoured for his “exceptional support” given to the US agency “in preserving the interests and security of the US and Qatar”, the report said.

The Qatari agency is closely cooperating with the US in counterterrorism “to prevent and foil threats and attacks” in the Middle East, Axios quoted one source as saying.

Both the CIA and Qatar’s State Security Agency have yet to issue a statement on al-Khulaifi’s award.

Qatar and the US have a decades-old relationship, and Qatar hosts the US Air Force base at Al-Udeid.

Tenet had served as CIA chief for almost eight years, from 1996 to 2004, under the administrations of both President Bill Clinton and President George W Bush, and helped to spearhead the country’s military invasions into both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies