Met at the Embassy with his excellency Amb. Chris Pepani – 1st Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa to the State of Qatar and Dr. Sam Gulube – Retired Secretary of Defence of the Republic of South Africa

Met at the Embassy with my long time friend Mr. Sipho Seakamela - Chief of Staff to the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth & Persons with Disabilities of the Republic of South Africa

Received H. E. Annmarie Mostert - Head of Rotary International club, Southern Africa. We discussed future cooperation.

H. E. Ambassador Tariq Al-Ansari received at his office today H. E. Mahdi Aghajafari-Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in a friendly visit.

https://twitter.com/radioqatar/status/1300097336148930560?s=21

I would like to congratulate all women in the Republic of South Africa on their National Women’s Day, the 9th of august, which is historical in making the change that they well-deserved. 74 years ago, exactly on the 9th of August 1956, more than 20,000 South African brave women marched in order to fight for their freedom and for attaining their inalienable right to freely move and protect their livelihood in their own country. However, the road to achieve a global environment of women empowerment and advancement is still long and in need for genuine political will, since all countries must have the spirit and desire to achieve the women empowerment and advancement agenda. Women in many parts of the world still suffer disproportionately from violent extremism, conflicts, humanitarian disasters, forced displacements, climate change, poverty and other forms of exploitation. In this context, countries can benefit from the strategies of both Qatar and South Africa, in order to forge their national plans devoted to women empowerment and gender equality. In our world that became global town, we need to cooperate and share the experiences of each other in order to develop and flourish. Again, congratulations to the Republic of South Africa and all its women and girls on this auspicious day, their day that became a landmark day for all of us. Tariq Ali Faraj Al-Ansari The Ambassador of the State of Qatar

• All passengers must register on the below Qatar Airways (QR) registration portal for approval before booking for the flights https://www.qatarairways.com/en-za/passenger-registration.html • After the registration, QR office in JHB will send a final list to the Embassy of Qatar in Pretoria for transmission to NATJOINT committee for the flight and passenger list approval • After flight approval by the NATJOINT committee, a booking link will be shared to the registered and approved passengers to book for their flights. Reservations will be closed 24hrs prior to the departure of the flight • Booking link for the repatriation flight is www.qatarairways.com/WeWillGetYouHome and use Promo Code PR_CR981 • Passengers must meet at one Assembly Point only, i.e. Embassy of the State of Qatar, 1077 Justice Mahomed Street, Waterkloof, Pretoria, and are expected to arrive at 14h00 on the day of departure • Passengers that intend to proceed to O.R. Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) will not be allowed to board the plane • QR will provide transportation to ORTIA which is equipped with toilets • QR staff will be at the Assembly Point location to assist in boarding of passengers on the bus • Passengers will not be allowed on board the bus without any protective personal equipment, i.e masks and gloves • Schedule of Departure of transportation to the airport: o 14h00 – all passengers must be gathered at the Embassy o 15h30 – depart Embassy for ORTIA o 16h30 – arrival and check-in for departure flight o 19h15 – flight departure • Passengers connecting on domestic flights should meet QR staff outside ‘Piece of Pizza’ restaurant on 3rd floor before international departures at 16h00 to be escorted to the security check point for processing • Passengers must have all the required documentations, i.e. valid passport, valid visa/resident permit, laissez-passer, in order to be allowed to board the bus • All Passenger will be transported to ORTIA with social distancing regulations adhered to as per the government guidelines • Repatriation flights are only applicable to foreign nationals in countries serviced by Qatar Airways. • South Africans with permanent residence/dual citizenship/work permit to their respective destinations must email covid19travel@dha.gov.za for travel clearance

https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/07/1068341 14 July 2020 Peace and Security The UN's top court has ruled in favour of Qatar over an airspace dispute involving four other Middle Eastern countries. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected an appeal, brought by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which called into question the authority of the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO). Background The background to the case involves a package of sanctions brought against Qatar in 2017 by the four countries, including the closure of Qatar’s sole land border, with Saudi Arabia; blocking Qatari ships from docking at their ports; and an air blockade, preventing Qatari aircraft from entering their airspace. The sanctions were imposed in retaliation for Qatar’s alleged support for groups that the plaintiff nations view as terrorist organizations, which, they say, violates agreements aimed at improving diplomatic relations in the region. Qatar rejects the allegations, arguing that the air blockade goes against the 1944 Convention on Civil Aviation, the international agreement which led to the creation of ICAO, the UN’s international aviation agency. Case goes to court Qatar decided to fight the blockade by taking the case to the ICAO, but the plaintiff nations complained that only the ICJ has the authority to decide on the dispute, arguing that the case goes beyond solely civil aviation matters. However, on Tuesday, that complaint was not upheld by the ICJ judges, who ruled that the ICAO is competent to hear the case. In a tweet, the State of Qatar welcomed the decision, and the country’s Minister of Transport and Communication, Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti, reportedly expressed his confidence that the ICAO will find in Qatar’s favour, and rule that the air blockade is unlawful. The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at The Hague responded with a tweet confirming that the country will now put its legal case to ICAO, supporting its right to close its airspace to Qatari aircraft, and the country’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Hissa Abdullah Al Otaiba, reportedly described the ICJ decision as “technical and limited to procedural issues and jurisdiction to address the dispute”, which has nothing to do with the merits of the case itself. Now that jurisdiction has been decided, the ICAO is expected to deliver a final ruling on the air blockade next year.

This link provides all current online destinations per region. It’s refreshed very often to include any new ones that open. https://www.qatarairways.com/en/travel-alerts/COVID-19-update.html

• All passengers must register on the below Qatar Airways (QR) registration portal for approval before booking for the flights https://www.qatarairways.com/en-za/passenger-registration.html • After the registartion, QR office in JHB will send a final list to the Embassy of Qatar in Pretoria for transmission to NATJOINT committee for the flight and passenger list approval • After flight approval by the NATJOINT committee, a booking link will be shared to the registered and approved passengers to book for their flights. Reservations will be closed 24hrs prior to the departure of the flight • Booking link for the repatriation flight is www.qatarairways.com/WeWillGetYouHome and use Promo Code PR_CR981 • All passengers must meet at one Assembly Point only, i.e. Embassy of the State of Qatar, 1077 Justice Mahomed Street, Waterkloof, Pretoria, and are expected to arrive four (4) hours prior to departure for the airport • Passengers that intend to proceed to O.R. Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) will not be allowed to board the plane • QR will provide transportation to ORTIA which is equipped with toilets • QR staff will be at the Assembly Point location to assist in boarding of passengers on the bus • Repatriation transportation (bus) will be at the Assembly Point three (3) hours prior to flight departure • Passengers will not be allowed on board the bus without any protective personal equipment, i.e masks and gloves • Schedule of Departure of transportation to the airport: o 15h00 – all passengers must be gathered at the Embassy o 16h00 – depart Embassy for ORTIA o 17h00 – arrival and check-in for departure flight o 19h15 – flight departure • Passengers must have all the required documentations, i.e. valid passport, valid visa/resident permit, laissez-passer, in order to be allowed to board the bus • All Passenger will be transported to ORTIA with social distancing regulations adhered to as per the government guidelines • Repatriation flights are only applicable to foreign nationals in countries serviced by Qatar Airways. • South Africans with permanent residence/dual citizenship/work permit to their respective destinations must have approval from the Department of Home Affairs of South Africa