The Shura Council State of Qatar

 The Shura Council has taken part in the 9th meeting of the Gulf-European Parliamentary Committee that was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The two-day meeting brought together representatives of the Gulf legislative councils.

The Shura Council was represented at the meeting by HE Member of the Shura Council Yousef bin Ali Al Khater, HE Member of the Shura Council Nasser bin Mohammed Al Nuaimi, and HE Secretary-General of the Shura Council Nayef bin Mohammed Al Mahmoud.

The meeting deliberated on the foremost topics on the agenda which focused on enhancing the Gulf-European ties at the parliamentary level and cooperation in technology, energy and regional security domains.

The deliberations tackled the shared challenges faced by the two regions, avenues for developing consultation and coordination mechanisms on regional and global issues and sharing legislative expertise between both sides.

Meanwhile, the committee held a meeting with the European Parliament's Delegation for relations with the Arabian Peninsula, which discussed a wide array of critical issues pertaining to bilateral relationship, chiefly the working paper presented by the Shura Council which included two key themes, notably facilitating the entry of the Gulf citizens to the EU countries, the regulatory policies of ensuring the ethical and responsible utilization of AI and protecting private data.

Regarding the facilitation of entry for Gulf citizens to EU member states, the Shura Council's paper underscored the importance of streamlining visa issuance procedures for GCC nationals and bolstering the diplomatic and legislative collaboration between both sides in a manner that contributes to elevating the economic, tourism, and investment relations to new heights.

The paper stressed the importance of reconsidering the current visa-related policies and adopting a more flexible mechanism in sync with the level of strategic partnership between the Gulf states and EU, thereby contributing to achieving further rapprochement and cooperation between the two regions.

As to the theme of the regulatory policies of ensuring the ethical and responsible utilization of AI and protecting the private data, the paper addressed the importance of setting a unified regulatory framework to ensure the responsible use of AI while taking into account ethical considerations and the protection of private data.

In addition, the paper emphasized the importance of exploring regulatory and legislative mechanisms that protect individuals and enterprises from any potential unlawful and unethical uses of smart technologies, in addition to strengthening cooperation between both sides in exchanging expertise and relevant legislation, with the aim of developing a legislative environment that supports innovation while safeguarding individuals' fundamental rights.

In conclusion, the participants underscored the importance of parliamentary partnership between the Gulf legislative councils and the European Parliament and proceeding with dialogue and cooperation on matters of shared interest, in a manner that serves the peoples of both regions and contributes to achieving stability and sustainable development.

HE Speaker of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Saqr Ghobash met with members of the Gulf-European Parliamentary Committee participating and discussed a range of topics on the agenda.

His Excellency wished them success in their meeting, affirming that he looks forward to these meetings contributing to the support of joint Gulf parliamentary efforts, thereby fostering the progress of the GCC and fulfilling the aspirations of its leaders and peoples