National Day/ ACTA President to QNA: Proud of Qatar's National Day Slogan

General- Qatar Doha, December 12 (QNA) - HE President of the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority (ACTA) Hamad bin Nasser Al Misnad affirmed that the Qatar National Day represents an occasion that is near and dear to all hearts. It is a pride and honor based on the principles on which the State of Qatar was incepted when it was founded by Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani up to this current day, carried by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. In an exclusive statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), HE said that Qatar's National Day 2022 slogan, "Our Unity Source of Our Strength", has been excerpted from a speech by HH the Amir. We are all proud of this slogan, which reinforces the values ​​of unity and loyalty, and solidarity of all the people in Qatar to continue achieving the renaissance and development that the country is witnessing in all fields, HE continued. Celebrating National Day affirms the lofty meanings that it embodies and symbolizes, as a day of gratitude and pride for every citizen belonging to the homeland, celebrating the achievements achieved by its people under the wise leadership, and being proud of the prestigious position that Qatar has assumed as trusted partner regionally and internationally, HE pointed out. The State of Qatar is proud of its achievements in promoting integrity, transparency, and prevention of corruption thanks to the vision of the wise leadership and values ​of society. This is to uphold the values of integrity and transparency, prioritizing it in the policies of the State of Qatar at the national and international levels, which made the State assumes a high position among the best countries in the world in standards of transparency and integrity, as confirmed by relevant international indicators, HE stressed. HE President of the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority explained that the honorable legacy enjoyed by the State of Qatar in upholding the values of integrity, transparency, and combating corruption always pushes for more continuous internal development. At the same time, HE affirmed the Authority's keenness to cooperate and coordinate with all concerned authorities in the country in a way that achieves integration between prevention and law enforcement with a focus on prevention as the most effective aspect in the long term. The Authority made achievements and is working diligently to enhance the legal and institutional frameworks for transparency, integrity, and prevention of corruption in the State of Qatar to build on the achievements of the State in this regard, given the great importance of this matter to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in government agencies and enhance the work and investment environment for the private sector, raising awareness of the values of integrity and transparency in line with the established cultural and social values of the State of Qatar, His Excellency said. Recently, the authority succeeded in many aspects of this field, in coordination with the concerned authorities in the country, foremost of which is the amendment of a number of pivotal legislations in preventing and combating corruption, including the Penal Code, to ensure the criminalization of bribery of international employees and employees of international public institutions, and the Criminal Procedure Code, to create many legal tools and means to enhance international cooperation in preventing and combating corruption, in addition to the issuance of a law on the protection of victims, witnesses, and other co-operating persons, to give more protection to everyone who reports a violation of the legal rules related to the protection of public money and other legal violations, HE explained. These legislations also include the issuance of a law regulating the right to access information, which puts the State of Qatar among the few countries in the world that have specialized legislation in this field, and ensures the transparency of the public sector, enhancing the confidence of international and local investors and the official and private work mechanisms in the country in accordance with international standards in this field, especially the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention and other relevant international agreements, HE said. HE President of the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority (ACTA) Hamad bin Nasser Al Misnad said that in addition to the importance of the issuance and amendments of legislation in strengthening the legislative framework to prevent and combat corruption in the State of Qatar, the issuance of legislation reflects the State of Qatar's commitment to relevant international standards, placing with developed countries that are concerned with it, and enhancing its results on the international indicators concerned with transparency, integrity, and anti-corruption issued by international organizations. In a related context, His Excellency said that the Authority provides the largest possible number of workshops for employees in the country on behavioral standards and conflicts of interest that would enhance the job culture related to integrity, business achievement, efficiency, and effectiveness in job performance, to enhance work outputs in government agencies and the ability of public officials to respond to customer requests efficiently, effectively, transparently and with integrity, to enhance the level of satisfaction of citizens and residents dealing with government agencies. The Authority is also implementing an ambitious program on preventing corruption risks in government agencies to enable it to predict its risks before it occurs. This will greatly protect the reputation of the public office and government institutions and the preservation of public money, considering prevention is much better than treatment. So far, the authority presented this program for more than three consecutive sessions, which included a large number of ministries and government agencies in the country, HE added. To benefit from capacity-building in the areas of transparency, integrity, and combating corruption, the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority is keen to cooperate with a number of national bodies, including the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), and other centers within the framework of the Authority's keenness to exchange experiences nationally, HE said. The authority is keen to represent the State of Qatar in relevant international conferences so that the State has an active role in all these international forums, especially the meetings related to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which is held periodically at the United Nations headquarters in Vienna in the State of Austria and other countries. Additionally, the authority's keenness to coordinate with the concerned authorities in the country and international organizations to implement the largest number of international events in Qatar, and to publicize its efforts globally in the field of transparency, integrity, and combating corruption, HE pointed out. The Administrative Control and Transparency Authority is keen to sign memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with its counterparts in Arab and foreign countries to introduce the efforts of the State of Qatar in combating corruption, exchange experiences, benefit from the expertise of these countries and transfer the best experiences to the State of Qatar in the administrative control, transparency, integrity and combating corruption fields, so that it is always at the forefront of applying the latest systems in force globally, HE stressed. In a related context, HE indicated that the authority signed a number of MoUs with a number of European countries, including France, and African countries, including Rwanda, and Arab countries, including Palestine and other countries. Additionally, the authority also signed MoUs with large international organizations, such as the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA). He added that he is proud of the country, its leadership, its customs and traditions, and the position it has reached thanks to wise leadership. HE noted that the efforts made by Qatar in settling disputes and achieving peace between countries, a matter of pride for the State of Qatar and its leadership that spares no effort in doing everything necessary for the good of the country and the well-being of its people to ensure a decent life for them and all the people around the world. HE pointed out that the international conferences and global events hosted by the State of Qatar reflect international confidence in it and its ability to organize and contribute to global peace and security, prosperity, and sustainable development. (QNA)