The Shura Council State of Qatar

The Shura Council held today its ordinary weekly session under the chairmanship of H.E. Mr. Ahmed Bin Abdulla Bin Zaid Al Mahmoud, the Speaker of the Council.

At the outset of the meeting, the Council reviewed a draft law on combating money laundering and financing terrorism and decided to forward it to its Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee to study it and to submit a report thereon to the Council.

The Council then discussed the supplementary report of its Economic and Financial Affairs Committee on the Request for General Debate on the national plan for food security.

The Council praised the efforts made by the government through the Food Security Committee to face the repercussions of the unjust blockade imposed on Qatar by providing basic commodities for citizens and residents, increasing agricultural and livestock production with high quality, working to ensure food security and for achieving self-sufficiency according to the current and future plans.

In its report, the Economic and Financial Affairs Committee recommended to regulate agricultural and livestock production and to accord the due care to the biological development of the Qatari product. The Committee also recommended increasing the State's support to Qatari farms and productive food security projects, such as providing electricity subsidies, financing and marketing to increase production to achieve self-sufficiency. In addition to opening global markets for export, and encouraging food processing to benefit from agricultural and livestock production and turning it into long-term goods for domestic consumption and export.

After an extensive discussion of the supplementary report of the Economic and Financial Affairs Committee, the Council approved the report and decided to refer its recommendations thereon to the esteemed government.

During the meeting, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Bin Abdulla Bin Zaid Al Mahmoud, the Speaker of the H.E. Mr.Révérien Ndikuriyo, the President of the Senate of the Republic of Burundi whereat they discussed cooperation relations between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Burundi and ways to boost and develop them especially in the parliamentary field. In addition they reviewed a number of topics of common interest.

His Excellency also briefed the Council on the written message he received from H.E. the Chairman of House of Representatives in the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurlan Nigmatulin, delivered by H.E. the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the State of Qatar wherein he reiterated his invitation to H.E. the Speaker of the Shura Council to participate in the 4^th, Meeting of the Speakers of Eurasian Countries' Parliaments to be held in Nursultan city, the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan in next September.

At the end of the meeting, the Council reviewed the report from its delegation that participated in the 24^th,  Session of the Executive Committee and the 4^th, Meeting of the Legal Group of the Executive Committee of the Inter-Arab Parliamentary Union, held recently in Cairo.