Qatar Cabinet Holds Weekly Meeting

Doha, February 02 (QNA) - HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani chaired the Cabinet's regular meeting held at its seat at the Amiri Diwan on Wednesday. Following the meeting, HE Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Sulaiti issued the following statement: At the outset of the meeting, the Cabinet welcomed the results of the important and fruitful talks held by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani with HE President of the United States of America Joe Biden on Monday in Washington, which focused on developing and strengthening the well-established strategic cooperation relations between the two countries in various fields, in addition to the most prominent regional and international developments and joint work to achieve peace in the region. The Cabinet affirmed that HH the Amir's working visit to the US and the discussions that took place with HE President Biden and a number of senior officials in the US administration have moved the strategic partnership between the State of Qatar and the United States of America to a new stage and opened broad horizons for developing bilateral cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of the two friendly countries in order to consolidate regional security and stability, maintain global peace and contribute to solving regional issues, foremost of which is the Palestinian cause. The Cabinet valued HE President Biden's praise for Qatar's prominent and positive role in the region and noted his direction to notify the US Congress to designate Qatar as a major non-NATO ally to reflect the importance of the Qatari-US relationship. The Cabinet also expressed great satisfaction that the State of Qatar ranked first among Arab countries and 24th globally in the 2021 Global Food Security Index (GFSI), in a list that included 113 countries. The Cabinet affirmed that this important achievement was accomplished thanks to the directives of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and the special interest that HH the Amir attaches to food security projects, as it confirms the success of the State's plans in this vital field and its strategy to increase agricultural production to reach self-sufficiency in accordance with Qatar National Vision 2030. Within the framework of this strategy, the State has made a major development of food markets and agricultural yards, expanded and modernized the logistical infrastructure in ports and warehouses, and established strategic storage reserves of wheat and rice, increasing the reserve stocks of a wide range of basic foodstuffs in retail stores, while increasing public expenditures on agricultural research through the Qatar National Research Fund for food security, in addition to the continuous efforts to modernize food security policies and strategies in the country. Then, the Cabinet listened to the explanation given by HE Minister of Public Health Dr. Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari on the latest developments to limit the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and stressed the continuation of work with the precautionary measures that have been taken in order to combat the pandemic. Then, the Cabinet considered the topics on the agenda as follows: First- The Cabinet took the necessary measures to ratify a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of education between the State of Qatar and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. Second- The Cabinet reviewed the following two issues and took the appropriate decision: 1- The semi-annual report of the Committee for the Regulation of Ownership and Use of Non-Qatari Property on its activities during the period from 6/4 to 6/10/2021. This committee established in the Ministry of Justice has several specializations, including: proposing areas in which non-Qataris are allowed to own and use real estate, the terms and conditions for their ownership and use of real estate, and the benefits, incentives and facilities granted to them. 2- The report of the Appeals Committee of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority regarding the complaints considered by the committee during 2018 and 2019. This committee established in the Qatar Financial Markets Authority, chaired by one of the presidents of the Court of Appeals, include the membership of two judges of the Court of Appeals and two experts in the securities transactions, is specialized in deciding on complaints against the penal decisions issued by the Authority. (QNA)