Shura Council Briefed on State's Latest Preparations to Host FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Doha, November 07 (QNA) - Shura Council held today its regular weekly session at Tamim bin Hamad Hall, chaired by HE Speaker of the Council Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanem. The council hosted HE Secretary-General at the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) Hassan Al Thawadi and Chairman of the Operations Office at the SC Eng. Yasser Abdullah Al Jamal to brief the members on developments of preparations to host the World Cup. HE Speaker of the Council praised the SC's efforts in preparing for the tournament over the past 12 years, whether in terms of infrastructure or logistics, adding that these preparations continue cooperation with many international organizations despite the negative campaign facing the country from official and non-official bodies. He added that these attacks relies on misinformation rather than facts, noting that these claims have already been addressed by many international organizations before. He said that some of those who made these negative remarks expressed regret after visiting Qatar, after their visit showed the accusations were false. For her part, HE Deputy Speaker of the Council Dr. Hamda bint Hassan Al Sulaiti welcomed the SC officials and praised them for their efforts, and in particular the Generation Amazing program that aimed to empower youth in Qatar and abroad to change their society through football. She also highlighted the contribution of the sustainability programme for its developmental impact. Both Al Thawadi and Al Jamal gave a presentation on the country's preparations for the event, which included the most prominent projects that were completed during the event. Al Thawadi reviewed the efforts made by the state during 12 years of hard work towards achieving comprehensive development, noting that the committee considers the legacy a priority in all the plans it made, in order to ensure the tournament brings benefits in line with Qatar National Vision 2030. The committee has a plan in place to transform many of the projects into social and sports hubs, designed in coordination with the surrounding areas. He noted that the competition played a role in speeding up the rate of completing major projects that serve the country. His Excellency noted that the competition helped national cadres gain valuable experience that could help the country, in addition to the role the tournament will play in promoting Qatar's culture globally, stressing that it was something the committee and its partners are keen on. For his part, Al Jamal reviewed the committee's efforts to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. He noted that Qatar was the first country to fully-build the competition's stadium infrastructure a full year before the start of the competition. He noted that all 41 training fields were concluded in 2019. In the field of transport, he highlighted the completion of the latest expansion of Hamad International Airport, in addition to bringing Doha International Airport online. He said that there are 750 electric busses, out of the 3000 dedicated to transporting fans. He also said that the Metro project was completed in 2019 and was used in a number of sporting events. He also said that the metro transported a record number of passengers, in addition to the committee's applications to inform the public on all the relevant transport information. He said that FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 ticket sales exceeded three million tickets. The two officials also took questions from Shura Council members, that dealt with hosting the competition, they included the importance of maintaining national identity and following Islamic teachings in line with the constitution. The members also condemned the malicious media attacks against the State of Qatar aimed at undermining the eligibility of the country as a World Cup host, stressing that these campaigns reflect hateful racism that has nothing to do with sports, and reveal the double standards of the parties behind these attacks. Al Thawadi for his part reiterated the committee's commitment to the Qatari culture inspired from Islam in line with the constitution and laws. With regard to the attacks and malicious campaigns against the State of Qatar, Al Thawadi stressed that the committee, since its establishment, has made great efforts to respond to all the accusations against Qatar, and was able to demonstrate that these accusations were not based on objective facts. He said that the committee, in cooperation with different bodies in the state, to engage positively with international organizations and discuss their perspective, which ended up with these organizations defending Qatar rather than criticize the country. He noted however that some Western media outlets have not been fairly reporting, adding that it something that leads to a feeling that bad intentions towards Qatar are part of the motive. At the conclusion HE Speaker of the Council and Members thanked HE Al Thawadi and Al Jamal for attending as representatives of the SC, expressing appreciation for the information they provided and for taking questions from the members. Afterwards, The Council reviewed a draft law amending some provisions of law no. 6 of 2014 regulating real estate development, which was referred to the council by the government, where the council decided to refer it to the Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee for further examination and to report on it. The council also reviewed the draft state general budget for the fiscal year 2023, a draft law approving the state’s general budget, and those referred to the council by the esteemed government, and decided to refer the two mentioned projects to the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee for study and report on them to the council. HE Secretary-General of the Shura Council Dr. Ahmed bin Nasser Ibrahim Al Fadala readout the meeting's agenda, and the council then ratified the minutes of the previous meeting. This week's meeting also saw the attendance of law and international students from Qatar University, Hamad bin Khalifa University, and Georgetown University. (QNA)