DOHA: Qatar’s policy under the leadership of the Amir, H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is based on respecting the principles of international laws, strengthening cooperation and friendship among countries and helping them overcome challenges posed by natural disasters, Speaker of the Shura Council, H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud, has said.
He was speaking during the ‘Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament’, which began on Wednesday via videoconferencing. Al Mahmoud explained that this conference, organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in cooperation with the UN and the Austrian Parliament, is of great importance and considered one of the most significant parliamentary events.
He said it brings together speakers of parliaments in the world and provides an opportunity for exchanging ideas and experiences that are beneficial for parliamentary work.
Al Mahmoud highlighted the role of parliamentary diplomacy in enhancing cooperation between peoples and contributing to achieving international peace and security and resolving international disputes and issues by diplomatic means in accordance with the principles of international law.
He also noted the pivotal role parliaments play in achieving sustainable development goals in order to liberate the world’s nations from the clutches of poverty, wars and absence of progress and development.
He addressed the preventive and precautionary measures taken by Qatar to curb the coronavirus pandemic and providing treatment and care to all citizens and residents in the country, stressing Qatar’s commitment to its humanitarian stances towards states and peoples, on top of which are the Palestinian people, who are suffering from a blockade and arbitrary measures imposed by the occupying entity.
He said Qatar has provided various types of material and moral support, including providing field hospitals, drugs and equipment, to a number of countries, the most recent of which is to Lebanon after the Beirut Port explosion.