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QNA
Washington
The US State Department has praised the efforts of Qatar in combating terrorism and its financing over the past year.
"Qatar significantly increased counterterrorism cooperation with the US in 2017. Qatar is an important and active partner in this regard with the United Nations and the regional and international organisation," the State Department said in its annual report on Terrorism 2017 published on its website.
It said Qatar significantly increased counterterrorism cooperation under the Counterterrorism Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani and former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in July last year.
In the MoU, Qatar and the US set forth mutually accepted means of increasing information sharing, disrupting terrorism financing flows, and intensifying counterterrorism activities, the State Department said in the report, noting that the two governments affirmed on November 8, 2017, the progress made on implementing the MoU and committed to expand bilateral counterterrorism cooperation.
It said Qatar is an active participant in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, is active in all Defeat-ISIS Coalition working groups, and has provided significant support in facilitating US military operations in the region.
The US State Department underlined that the security services in Qatar maintained its ability in monitoring and countering terrorism-related activities, and praised the Decree Law No (11) of 2017, which amended some provisions of Law No (3) of 2004 on Combating Terrorism, issued by the government of Qatar in July 2017.
The amendment set out definitions of terrorism-related activities, penalties for terrorism-related offences, and the establishment of a national designations list.
The report said security services in Qatar maintain an aggressive posture toward monitoring internal extremist and terrorism-related activities.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) and Internal Security Force are well-positioned to respond to incidents with rapid reaction forces that routinely engage in structured counterterrorism training and exercises, it said.
The Office of Public Prosecution is tasked with prosecuting all crimes, including any related to terrorism, and plays a significant role in terrorism investigations.
As a result of the counterterrorism MoU, the report noted that the US and Qatar significantly increased information sharing, including on identities of known and suspected terrorists. Aviation security information sharing also increased, as new protocols were agreed to and established.
On countering financing of terrorism, the report underlined that Qatar deepened cooperation with the US.
In October, Qatar joined the US and other member countries in the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), which was established in May, 2017, after the GCC-US summit in Riyadh, in coordinated domestic designations of individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaida and the ISIS in the Arabia Peninsula.
The report said Qatar is an active member of the Middle East North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF), a Financial Action Task Forcestyle regional body.
In 2017, Qatar commenced preparations for the 2019 MENAFATF Mutual Evaluation, including establishing an interagency task force, formalising cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and intensifying coordination with US counterparts.
On Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), the report highlighted that the core of Qatar’s CVE strategy remained intensive investment in education through the 45 entities comprising the Qatar Foundation which leads the country’s efforts aiming at achieving leadership in education, science, arts and community development in the region and beyond.
According to the report, QF’s Education Above All initiative provided educational opportunities to communities stricken by poverty or crisis, primarily in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, impacting an estimated 10 million children worldwide since 2013.
The report of the US State Department also praised QFIs Al Fakhoora initiative which provided scholarships to Palestinian and Syrian youth, underlining that these and other QFI initiatives are designed to facilitate understanding and education, and deter isolationist, xenophobic and extremist thought and ideology.
The report said Qatar continued its robust financial support for the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, and continued to fund the Education for Justice Initiative, a CVE programme focused on crime prevention and criminal justice implemented by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
The report added further that Qatar is an active participant in the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League on counterterrorism activities, and also a founding member of the Global Counterterrorism Forum.
Qatar was active in GCC activities, but the Gulf crisis that broke out in June froze most GCC-wide engagements, the report said.
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21/09/2018
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