Doha, Qatar: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani chaired the Cabinet's regular meeting held at its seat at the Amiri Diwan on Wednesday morning.
After the meeting, HE Minister of Justice and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ibrahim bin Ali Al Mohannadi stated the following:
The Cabinet applauded the outcome of the 10th session of the Qatari-Turkish Supreme Strategic Committee which was co-chaired by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and HE President of the sisterly Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Nov. 14, 2024. The session discussed the strategic relations between the two countries, as well as the latest regional and international developments, mainly the situation in the Gaza Strip, the occupied Palestinian territories and Lebanon.
The Cabinet emphasized that the fruitful talks at the 10th session of the Qatari-Turkish Supreme Strategic Committee, the spirit of brotherhood that prevailed, the agreements and memoranda of understanding signed, and the joint statement issued at the conclusion of its work manifested robust relations between the two countries, as well as the sincere aspiration and shared will to promote bilateral cooperation across various fields, reinforce their strategic partnership, and open broader horizons for elevating the relations to a new stage of productive collaboration and constructive understanding for the benefit of their two brotherly peoples, and contributing to achieving peace and stability in the region and the world.
The Cabinet also commended the participation of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in the G20 Summit held on Monday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, under the theme 'Building a Fairer World and a Sustainable Planet.' The Cabinet stressed that the invitation sent by HE President of the Federative Republic of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose country chairs the current session of the G20, to HH the Amir, to participate in the summit, reflects the status of the State of Qatar and the appreciation for its effective positive role on the regional and international arenas and its continuous contribution to peace, development and serving causes of peoples around the globe.
The Cabinet also acknowledged HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani's honouring of the winners of the 8th edition of the Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award (ACE Award), organized in cooperation with the UN, during the ceremony held yesterday in San Jose, Costa Rica, with the attendance of HE First Vice President of the Republic of Costa Rica Stephan Brunner Neibig.
The Cabinet highlighted the wide global interest in this distinguished award, which aims to spread the culture of combating corruption around the globe, work to eradicate this dangerous scourge, and consolidate the principles of good governance and transparency.
The Cabinet then considered the topics listed on its agenda, as it approved a draft law on extending the concession granted to Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani), and referred it to the Shura Council.
The Cabinet approved -in principle- a draft Amiri decision to establish an office for organizing conferences. The draft decision was prepared so that the office would replace the Permanent Committee for Organizing Conferences, stipulated in Article No. 2 and Article No. 32 of the Amiri Decision No. 33 of 2022 on the organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Cabinet also approved -in principle- the proposal of HE Minister of Labor to establish the Qatar award for localization in the private sector. The proposal comes within the framework of Law No. 12 of 2024 regarding the localization of jobs in the private sector, and in implementation of the objectives and initiatives set by the comprehensive vision for development - Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Third National Development Strategy 2024-2030. These objectives and initiatives include a workforce ready for the future and empowering citizens and qualifying them to compete in the labor market, with the aim of encouraging positive competition among private sector establishments in the field of localization, by honoring establishments that have achieved localization targets and contributed to achieving the Qatar National Vision, and to honor distinguished talents among citizens appointed in the private sector as well as owners of distinguished visions and innovative pioneers in this sector.
The Cabinet decided to approve the Ministry of Transport's proposal to exempt Qatari students studying at the Qatar Aeronautical Academy from tuition fees, with the aim of attracting distinguished students to work in the aviation industry, in line with the state's directives, as well as to provide the labor market with national cadres in the field of aviation.
The Cabinet also decided to approve taking the necessary measures to ratify a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) and the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) regarding joint cooperation in the field of central banking work.
The Cabinet decided to approve a draft agreement between the government of the State of Qatar and the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on economic, trade and technical cooperation, and a draft MoU on enhancing security cooperation between the Ministry of Interior of the State of Qatar and the Home Office of the UK of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Cabinet also approved a draft MoU on cooperation in the cultural field between the government of the State of Qatar and the government of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and a draft MoU on cooperation in the field of youth between the government of the State of Qatar and the government of the Republic of Rwanda.
The Cabinet decided to approve the draft MoU for cooperation in the field of preventing and combating corruption between the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority (ACTA) in the State of Qatar and the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the draft executive program in the fields of sports and youth between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the Republic of El Salvador for the years 2024, 2025.
The Cabinet concluded its meeting by reviewing four reports and taking the appropriate decisions in their regard. The reports included report No. 59 on the results of the work of the National Committee for Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW) during the period from 5/1 to 31/8/2024, and the national report on the results of the work of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCHT) for the year 2023. The reports also included a report on the results of the participation of the State of Qatar's delegation headed by HE Minister of Labor in the 'Yerevan Dialogue' conference in the Republic of Armenia, and a report on the results of the participation of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's delegation in the Second Gulf-Azerbaijani Economic Forum.
