Cabinet lauds participation of HH the Amir in G20 Summit

HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs, chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting today at the Amiri Diwan.

In a statement after the meeting, HE Ibrahim bin Ali Al Mohannadi, Minister of Justice and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, said that the Cabinet began their session by welcoming the outcomes of the 10th Meeting of the Qatari-Turkish Supreme Strategic Committee, held on 14 November, in Ankara.

The meeting, co-chaired by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and HE President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan, focused on discussing strategic relations between the two countries and exchanging views on key regional and international developments, particularly the situation in Gaza, the occupied Palestinian territories and Lebanon.

The Cabinet emphasised that the fruitful discussions that took place at the meeting, the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) that were signed, and the Joint Communique issued at its conclusion, reflect the depth of relations between the two countries. They also demonstrate the genuine commitment and mutual determination to advance their bilateral cooperation in various fields, to strengthen their strategic partnership and pave the way for further development of their relations; thereby prompting new levels of productive cooperation and constructive understanding for the benefit of both nations and contributing to peace and stability in the region and the world.

The Cabinet commended HH the Amir’s honouring of the winners of the eighth edition of the “HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award,” organised in cooperation with the United Nations. The ceremony took place on Tuesday in San Jose, the capital of the Republic of Costa Rica, with the attendance of HE First Vice-President of the Republic of Costa Rica Stephan Brunner Neibig.

The Cabinet highlighted the global attention garnered by this distinguished award, which aims to promote a culture of anti-corruption globally, eradicate it and strengthen the principles of good governance and transparency.

The Cabinet also lauded HH the Amir’s participation at the 2024 G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in the Federative Republic of Brazil, which was held under the theme of “Building a Just World & a Sustainable Planet.”

In this regard, the Cabinet noted that the invitation extended to HH the Amir by HE Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, whose country is presiding over the Summit, reflects Qatar’s prominent status and the recognition it receives for its constructive and positive role on regional and global fronts. It also reflects the State’s continued contributions to peace, development and the service of global causes.

As part of the session’s proceedings, the Cabinet approved a draft law on extending the concession granted to Qatar Ports Management Company and referred it to the Shura Council.

The Cabinet approved, in principle, a draft Amiri decision to establish a Conference Organization Office to replace the Permanent Committee for Organizing Conferences, which is stipulated in Articles (2) and (32) from Amiri Decision No. (33) of 2022 on the organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Cabinet also approved, in principle, a proposal by the Minister of Labour to create a Qatar Award for Nationalization in the Private Sector. The proposal comes within the framework of Law No. (12) of 2024 on Job Nationalization in the Private Sector, and in implementation of the objectives and initiatives set out by the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Third National Development Strategy (2024-2030) – including a Future-Ready Workforce. This encompasses empowering and equipping citizens to compete in the labour market with the aim of encouraging positive competition between private sector establishments in the field of nationalization by honouring those that have achieved nationalization targets towards the realisation of the State of Qatar’s national vision. It also aims to recognise outstanding talents among citizens employed in the private sector, as well as visionary individuals and innovative pioneers in this sector.

Subsequently, the Cabinet approved a proposal by the Ministry of Transport to exempt Qatari students at the Qatar Aeronautical Academy from tuition fees. This aims to attract outstanding students to pursue careers in the aviation industry, in alignment with state directives, to enrich the labour market with skilled national talent in aviation.

From there, the Cabinet approved the necessary measures to ratify a MoU between Qatar Central Bank and Saudi Central Bank on cooperation in central banking operations.

The Cabinet also approved a draft agreement between the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Nigeria on economic, commercial and technical cooperation; a draft MoU on strengthening security cooperation between the Ministries of Interior of the State of Qatar and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; a draft MoU on cultural cooperation between the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Somalia; a draft MoU on youth development cooperation between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Rwanda and a draft MoU to cooperate on preventing and combatting corruption between the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority in the State of Qatar and the Integrity & Anti-corruption Commission in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Cabinet also approved a draft sports and youth executive program between the State of Qatar and the Republic of El Salvador for 2024-2025.

At the meeting’s conclusion, the Cabinet reviewed four reports, making decisions accordingly. These included the 59th report on the outcomes of the National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons for the period between 1 May to 31 August 2024; the 2023 national report on the outcomes of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking; a report on the outcomes of the participation of a Qatari delegation, headed by the Minister of Labour, at the Yerevan Dialogue in the Republic of Armenia and a report on the outcomes of the participation of a delegation from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry at the second edition of the Gulf-Azerbaijani Economic Forum.