5 June 2021 The article published by The Times on 4 June 2021, which makes serious and baseless claims about Qatar, is predicated on misleading assertions, factual inaccuracies, and bias. Other media outlets were shown the same falsified information but declined to publish it after determining that it had no factual basis. Despite Qatar engaging with The Times on these issues, they chose to publish falsehoods, in an apparent abandonment of their journalistic responsibilities. The author of the article, Andrew Norfolk, has a well-documented history of promoting Islamophobic sentiment and this article is another milestone in that effort. The UK press regulator IPSO previously ruled that he had ‘distorted’ reports about Muslims and the newspaper has also been challenged by a parliamentary committee over Norfolk’s Islamophobic articles. It is concerning that in such polarized times a journalist with such a track record is allowed free reign to publish in the Times. As has been publicly recognized, Qatar has laws and systems in place to combat and prevent the financing of terrorism and has been recognized as a leader with respect to these efforts. Along with these safeguards, Qatar has championed some of the strictest laws and regulatory framework to combat money laundering. Qatar is absolutely resolute in these comprehensive efforts to ensure that terrorism is not funded anywhere. To that end, Qatar will continue to work with the UK and other international partners to fight global terrorism, undeterred by those who wish to divide us.

Doha, June 28 (QNA) - The State of Qatar reiterated condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, wherever it is committed, and whatever its justifications may be, affirming its determination to continue working as an effective international partner to prevent the heinous scourge of terrorism. This came in a pre-recorded speech delivered on Monday by HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the opening session of the Second United Nations High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States, as part of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week. HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs said, "Preventing and countering terrorism are areas that require the highest degree of international coordination and cooperation. In that regard, the United Nations plays a central role in revitalizing multilateral cooperation, as represented by convening this high-level conference. We look forward to this conference contribution in building on and developing the outcome of the First Conference in 2018 and the Virtual Week of last year." "To ensure the effectiveness of our joint efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism, we must work on addressing the root causes of terrorism and to support programs and activities in integrated areas such as education, youth employment and countering extremist discourse. Nevertheless, such steps are not enough as the terrorist threat is a complex and evolving threat, and terrorists continue to exploit technological tools and international and emerging conditions, such as the coronavirus pandemic, to further their activities and attacks," he added.

Rome, June 28 (QNA) - The State of Qatar participated on Monday morning in the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Rome, Italy. HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani chaired the State of Qatar's delegation to the meeting. At the beginning of his speech to his ministerial counterparts, HE the Foreign Minister thanked HE Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio for hosting the ministerial meeting, and to all Their Excellencies for giving the State of Qatar the opportunity to talk about the joint efforts that have been achieved towards defeating ISIS. His Excellency also welcomed the admission of new members to the coalition, wishing them success, stressing the urgent need to strengthen and expand security cooperation, in addition to increasing capacity-building efforts with countries where ISIS still represents an existing or growing threat. HE the Foreign Minister expressed Qatar's pride in the cooperation between the Member States and their field partners to protect communities affected by extremist organizations. His Excellency also indicated Qatar's commitment to continue working to support efforts to rehabilitate and deport foreign fighters and their family members to their countries of origin, pointing out that they are still at risk of radical influence again. At the end of his speech, HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to review and re-evaluate strategies and approaches to combating terrorism and extremism, stressing Qatar's firm commitment to the coalition's message and goals.

HE the Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs highlighted Qatar's diplomatic efforts in coordination with the UN and international community to reduce escalation in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, stressing the need to protect civilians and adhere to international humanitarian law.

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Doha, April 23 (QNA) - HE Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi said that the State of Qatar, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and Norway, collectively representing 40 percent of global oil and gas production, will come together to form a cooperative forum that will develop pragmatic net zero emission strategies, including methane abatement, advancing the circular carbon economy approach, development and deployment of clean-energy and carbon capture and storage technologies, diversification from reliance on hydrocarbon revenues, and other measures in line with each country's national circumstances. His Excellency added that "the State of Qatar is pleased to be among this distinguished group of signatory nations that will undertake this unique cooperative endeavor to develop net zero emission strategies. We believe that our engagement in this forum is an important mission consistent with, and supported by, our ambition to create a better and more sustainable future for humanity." (QNA)

Teaser: Countdown to 23-team international tournament begins in Doha Copy starts: Qatar will host the draw for the FIFA Arab Cup 2021™ at Katara Opera House in Doha on Tuesday, 27 April at 9 PM local time. The tournament will be contested by 23 Arab nations. The draw will be attended by a limited number of officials, in line with Qatar's COVID-19 protocols. The FIFA Arab Cup™M will be held at the end of 2021 and is seen as a vital opportunity to test operations and facilities exactly a year before Qatar hosts the first FIFA World CupT in the Middle East and Arab world. The finals of both events are set to take place on 18 December – Qatar's National Day. Matches will take place at six Qatar 2022 tournament venues, some of which have hosted top-level football in recent months, while others are in the final stages of construction. The 23 nations participating in the FIFA Arab Cup 2021™: Qatar (host nation), Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Further details about the tournament format and match calendar will be confirmed in due course.

HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said, "Qatar is well prepared to demonstrate for the world that we can host such an event (2022 World Cup) and have it hopefully in-person and this is our plan from the beginning," adding that the Qatar World Cup will be a great opportunity for the world as the first happy event that will take place after the novel coronavirus pandemic and isolation. Speaking at the 2021 Raisina Dialogue, HE the Foreign Minister underlined that Qatar, from the beginning, wanted to make sure, even with the continuation of the pandemic, to know how to host a successful World Cup with a physical presence so that people could attend and enjoy the event. "We have been negotiating and talking to the vaccination providers on how we can make sure that everyone attending the World Cup is vaccinated," he added. "Right now there are programs under development to provide vaccination to all the attendees of the World Cup. We will be able, hopefully, to host a COVID-free event. We also hope that globally the pandemic will start to go down and disappear. "I think one of the important elements that Qatar has made is its commitment to the world, for example, Hamad International Airport remained open to travelers who want to transit. Qatar Airways participated very actively in the repatriation of citizens from different countries, and we also provided our support, especially in the first days when we had those issues in providing ventilators, masks, etc, and there was a shortage of these materials in the market," he said. HE the Foreign Minister noted that the State of Qatars support extended to nearly 50 countries, in addition to its active participation in the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) initiative, adding: "We tried to address it in a 360-view so addressing the global issue and responding as a responsible member in the international community, being responsible for our own community, by making sure that our health care system is resilient, and our economy can stand in the face of this crisis." HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed that the State of Qatar has made an effort to ensure the minimum negative impact from this pandemic, adding, that the first priority in making sure that its health care system is resilient, so when the pandemic started last year, Qatar has put develop plans to ensure providing the maximum care by health care teams to the people. "Qatar has the minimum fatality rate in the world, that is due to making sure that we are not overloading our health care system and always have a room and enough spaces to hospitalize people and also moving forward by testing in advance and taking random samples from different communities," he explained. HE the Foreign Minister pointed out that the state provided stimulus packages like last year, starting with a package of USD20 billion for soft loans, and some industry loans, energy fees, and so on was ceded to companies, adding that the state reviews these packages every six months, to provide such a package when needed.

Doha, April 14 (QNA) -, the Cabinet adopted additional support packages for the sectors affected by the closures resulting from the precautionary measures to deal with the spread of COVID-19, as follows: - Exemption from electricity and water fees for closed sectors until the end of September 2021. - Extension of the National Guarantees Program at Qatar Development Bank until the end of September 2021. - Extension of the period of the exemption from interest for an additional year for the National Guarantees Program to become two years without interest, in addition to two years of payment with interest that does not exceed the Qatar Central Bank rate + 2%. - Raising the limits of funding salaries and wages for closed sectors to QR15 million for a single identity card, while retaining the rest of the relevant terms and conditions. - Continued support by Qatar Central Bank to the liquidity of local banks as needed.Then, the Cabinet listened to the explanation provided by HE Minister of Public Health on the latest developments to limit the spread of Coronavirus. The Cabinet expressed satisfaction over the progress of the vaccination against the COVID-19 in the State of Qatar, as 1,168,087 doses of the vaccine have been administered since the start of the national vaccination program, and the percentage of people who received the first dose of vaccination reached 27% of the total number of population and the percentage of people who received the two doses is 15% of the total population, thus the State of Qatar ranked ninth in the world in the proportion of people who received vaccination. The Cabinet praised this achievement and the plans and programs put in place to vaccinate the entire population in the country. (MORE) The Cabinet then considered the topics listed on its agenda. The Cabinet took the necessary measures to issue a draft law on mortgaging movable funds, after the Council of Ministers reviewed the recommendation of the Shura Council on the draft law. The draft law aims to enable companies and individuals to obtain bank loans with the guarantee of mortgaged movables, and contribute to reducing the cost of loans by creating a guarantee for banks to reduce the risk of defaulting payments, thus supporting small and medium enterprises and their contribution to the national economy. Among the provisions contained in the draft law are the provisions related to the scope of application, the establishment of the electronic register in the Qatar Central Securities Depository and the data to be recorded in the register, the establishment and enforcement of the right of mortgage, and the rights of the mortgagee. The Cabinet also approved a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. (1) of 2019 regulating the investment of non-Qatari capital in economic activity. The draft law includes the amendment of Article (7) of the law so that non-Qatari investors can own up to (100%) of the capital of Qatari shareholding companies listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange. The Cabinet approved draft decision of the Minister of Finance to apply the requirements of substantial activity to the economic activities practiced in the State of Qatar. In addition, the Cabinet approved a draft protocol amending some provisions of the agreement between the government of the State of Qatar and the government of Bermuda regarding the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of financial evasion with regard to taxes on income. The Cabinet took the necessary measures to ratify an agreement between the State of Qatar and the United Nations regarding the establishment of a United Nations office in the State of Qatar affiliated with the Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), in support of the UNOCT program related to the establishment of "International Hub on Behavioral Insights to Counter Terrorism" as a UNOCT Program Office in the State of Qatar. (QNA)

Doha / Information Office / 13 April 2021 The State of Qatar stressed its commitment to the COVAX global initiative for providing access to COVID-19 vaccine on an international scale, stressing that the disproportionate negative impact of the pandemic requires paying special attention to the most vulnerable segments, in order to help them stay resilient and recover. This came in the statement of the State of Qatar read today by HE Assistant Foreign Minister and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Forum which focuses on development financing in 2021, particularly financing recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic. HE Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater said that the State of Qatar believes its recovery from the pandemic cannot be achieved unless all segments of its society, particularly the most vulnerable, recover as well. Her Excellency added that this was reflected in providing tests and high-quality healthcare to everyone in Qatar, regardless of nationality or residency status, in addition to the national vaccination program which will cover all targeted segments in the next few months. Her Excellency said that the State of Qatar provided urgent medical to around 78 countries all over the world to help them respond to the pandemic, with total governmental and nongovernmental aid exceeding $88 million. She noted that a total of $20 million were allocated for the international alliance for vaccination, in addition to Qatar Fund for Development signing an agreement worth $10 million with the World Health Organization (WHO) to support its 13th work programme and accelerate the process of providing access to tools that will combat the Coronavirus in countries that are most in need. HE the Assistant Foreign Minister and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted the big role played by Qatar Airways in repatriating more than 3 million people home safely, at a time when most airports around the world were closed. She also said that the State of Qatar was proud to join UN campaign 'Only Together,' out of the country's belief in the importance of partnership, cooperation and guaranteeing quick and equitable access to vaccines all over the world, in addition to its commitment to supporting COVAX. Her Excellency stressed that the disproportionate negative impact of the pandemic requires paying special attention to the most vulnerable segments in order to help them stay resilient and recover, adding that the State of Qatar was pleased to host the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries from Jan. 23-27, 2022, stressing that the country is confident the event will be pivotal in enhancing these countries abilities to face challenges. She said that Doha's work programme will be the first one to respond to challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic to the least developed countries, whether economic or social, in order to help them remain resilient and recover. HE Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater stressed Qatar's commitment to continued active contributions and support in responding to challenges, as well as moving forward with the implementation of the 2030 sustainable development plan.