The Shura Council State of Qatar

HE Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council Dr. Hamda bint Hassan Al Sulaiti emphasized Qatar's keenness to enhance and encourage cooperation with southern countries, strengthening the bonds of brotherhood, friendship, and partnership between these nations, in a manner that serves the interests of all peoples.

In her speech during the first day of the Parliamentary Conference on South-South Cooperation, which kicked off in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, Her Excellency explained that this interest is reflected in the size of the country's investments in these regions, as well as the volume of development aid provided to the peoples in the Arab region, Africa, and Latin America, whether in normal circumstances or during natural disasters that occasionally affect some southern countries.

She also highlighted Qatar's keenness to host important United Nations conferences aimed at supporting poor countries, citing several conferences such as the Second South Summit of the Group of 77 and China in 2005, the Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus in 2008, aimed at mobilizing as much international aid as possible for the least developed and developing countries.

Dr. Al Sulaiti added that Qatar also hosted the 13th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in 2012, the 18th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2012, and the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in 2023, which were attended by a large number of heads of state and government from countries in the Global South.

In her speech, Her Excellency emphasized Qatar's contributions to supporting developing countries, including the generous support directed by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in 2019 with a donation of USD100 million for the least developed and developing non-coastal and small island countries to address climate change.

She underscored the importance of the Parliamentary Conference on South-South Cooperation and its theme, "Role of National Parliaments and Regional and Continental Parliamentary Unions in Africa, the Arab World, and Latin America in Enhancing Strategic Partnerships and Achieving Joint Integration and Development." HE Dr. Al Sulaiti pointed out that the conference agenda is filled with topics that touch on the concerns of the peoples of the three regions, focusing on achieving progress in sustainable development goals and eliminating the scourges of poverty, deprivation, and terrorism through regional blocs and establishing strategic partnerships between countries, given their enormous economic and human resources capabilities and abundance of natural resources.

She affirmed that optimal utilization of these capabilities requires cooperation through establishing strategic partnerships and achieving economic integration and common development to achieve sustainable development for the benefit of the people of the three regions as a whole.

Her Excellency explained that the optimal utilization of their potential and capabilities would achieve sustainable development for them, combat poverty, and eliminate all social ills, making them oases of stability and prosperity for the people of the region.

HE Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council Dr. Hamda bint Hassan Al Sulaiti also warned that the convening of the Parliamentary Conference on South-South Cooperation comes at a time when the people of Gaza are suffering due to the tyranny and arrogance of the occupying entity, in flagrant violation of all international laws, divine laws, and human moral values.

Her Excellency considered the actions of the occupation forces in Gaza and the rest of the Palestinian territories as a wake-up call for the southern countries, stating that as long as they remain torn apart and not united and cohesive, they will continue to be vulnerable to further fragmentation and unable to confront the challenges.

HE Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council called on all participants to raise their voices and demand an immediate cessation of the Israeli aggression against Gaza and its innocent inhabitants, and to allow the entry of relief supplies and essential necessities such as food, medicine, tents, fuel, and medical equipment.

Dr. Al Sulaiti affirmed that the only possible solution to this issue is to enable the fraternal Palestinian people to obtain all their legitimate rights guaranteed by international legitimacy and international law, foremost among them their steadfast right to establish their independent Palestinian state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council had chaired the coordination meeting of the Gulf Parliamentary Group on the sidelines of the Parliamentary Conference on South-South Cooperation, held in the Moroccan capital, Rabat.

During the meeting, the participants reviewed the agenda items of the two-day conference, exchanged views, and emphasized the coordination and unification of Gulf positions regarding these issues.

The participants also agreed to hold a meeting bringing together the Gulf legislative councils and Latin American parliamentary federations, in implementation of the decision of the 17th meeting of Their Excellencies Presidents of the Legislative Councils of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, hosted by Doha in November 2023, to hold coordinating meetings preceding international and regional forums.