The Shura Council State of Qatar

HE Speaker of the Shura Council Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud and HE United Nations Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Vladimir Voronkov agreed to intensify efforts to establish the program office on parliamentary engagement on preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism, in implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that they signed at the UN Headquarters in New York on Feb. 17 and stipulated that the Shura Council and the UN should enter into direct arrangements to establish the program office on parliamentary engagement on preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism in the State of Qatar, and its activities shall cover the parliaments of the world.

This came during the virtual meeting on Tuesday between HE Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud and HE Vladimir Voronkov, during which they discussed the completion of the procedures for establishing this office as soon as possible, and providing the requirements for it to play its desired role in empowering parliamentarians from all countries of the world, raising their capabilities, providing them with a full experience to confront the terrorism scourge in all its forms, protecting humanity from its evils, undertaking joint initiatives to enhance the effective commitment of parliamentarians, and facilitating a balanced and integrated implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and relevant Security Council resolutions.

During the meeting, HE Speaker of the Shura Council underlined that the State of Qatar's efforts to combat terrorism comes within the framework of the wise and rational policy of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and his continuous support to the UN in general.

At the conclusion of the meeting, a statement was issued from the UN Headquarters in New York, during which HE Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud and HE Vladimir Voronkov expressed solidarity with all the parliaments and nations who are collectively confronting the challenges posed the COVID-19 pandemic. They congratulated all parliamentarians on the International Day of Parliamentarism recognizing the importance of parliamentary diplomacy and the critical role that parliamentarians play in countering terrorism efforts at the national, regional, and global levels.

HE Speaker of the Shura Council expressed appreciation to HE Vladimir Voronkov for his strong commitment to countering terrorism and for strengthening the UN efforts in this field.

HE Vladimir Voronkov expressed appreciation to HE Speaker of the Shura Council for his support to UNOCT, stressing that parliamentarians, as community leaders, policy-makers, and legislators, can significantly contribute to achieving a safer world without terrorism, hate speech and violent extremism.