New York, September 21 (QNA) - The State of Qatar participated today in the ministerial meeting Global Counterterrorism Forum, which was held on the sidelines of the 77th UN General Assembly in New York.
The State of Qatar was represented in the meeting by HE Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Counterterrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution Dr. Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani.
His Excellency said in his speech at the forum that the State of Qatar attaches great importance to its membership in this important forum, within the framework of the seriousness it attaches to participating in various international frameworks to combat terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism.
His Excellency highlighted the distinguished and growing partnership the State of Qatar has with UN agencies concerned with countering terrorism, noting that Qatar was one of the biggest supporters of the strategic initiatives of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED). His Excellency added that what has been accomplished in terms of coordinating and implementing the recommendations of the task force concerned with financial measures was appreciated by everyone, in addition to participating in regional and international coordination of combating terrorism and violent extremism.
He explained that the State of Qatar considers its membership in the Global Counter-terrorism Forum one of the most important international frameworks in this field, and it comes as a continuation of this trend, in addition to being one of the founding countries of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, and participated in the membership of its board of directors, and also contributed to its financing from inception. In this regard, he pointed to the State of Qatar's announcement yesterday of a contribution of an additional $5 million to the fund.
The Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that Qatar's support of the fund was a result of the country's understanding of the importance of addressing the root causes of violent extremism and tackling hate speech as well as preventing terrorist groups from using poor political, economic, and social conditions to recruit young people.
He added that it was the same reason that drives a large number of the State of Qatar's activities and initiatives in the field of providing access to education to millions of students, as well as providing vocational training to millions of young people, in addition to promoting a culture of peace and peaceful coexistence.
His Excellency added that the State of Qatar, by hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, will highlight the role of sport as a means of peace and coexistence among peoples, especially among youth, in addition to the role of sport in development.
His Excellency added that the State of Qatar highlights the importance of combatting terrorism and not allowing individuals or terrorist organizations from using Afghan land to threaten the security and peace of other countries, and as a result Qatar was continuing to engage to establish peace, security, and stability in Afghanistan.
His Excellency added that the State of Qatar spares no effort in communicating with the Afghan caretaker government on a number of occasions to stress the importance of adhering to its commitments in line with the Doha Agreement. He added that Qatar sees no alternative to communicating with the caretaker government to ensure conditions in Afghanistan do not deteriorate, in addition to the importance of protecting the gains made by the Afghan people and providing all forms of support to ensure they live with dignity.
HE the Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated the State of Qatar's constant emphasis on the importance of respecting human rights, especially women's rights and girls' right to education, and the importance of the international community's continued support to Afghanistan at this critical stage, and to separate the field of humanitarian aid from political differences in order to have stability in Afghanistan. (QNA)