14. In the context of the Qatar National Vision 2030, the State is eager to pursue international cooperation, to contribute constructively to international peace and security, and to fulfil its international obligations. As defined in the Vision, the most important goals in the field of international cooperation are: promoting the economic, political and cultural role of Qatar at the regional and global levels, particularly in the United Nations system and in regional and international organizations; promoting cultural exchanges with other Arab States and peoples in particular and with other countries in general; sponsoring and supporting dialogue between civilizations and promoting coexistence between different religions and cultures; and contributing to building international peace and security through political initiatives and aid for developmental and humanitarian purposes. Qatar
development and has therefore introduced a strategic plan on international cooperation into its Second National Development Strategy 2018–2022, which is part of the Qatar National Vision 2030 and was launched in March 2018. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is heading a national team for international cooperation, which is to draft, implement and follow up on the strategic plan in collaboration with the office for planning and statistics.
15. Qatar sets great store by boosting bilateral and multilateral cooperation and working with friendly States, global and regional organizations and international entities. This is evinced by the fact that Qatar has joined more than 328 Arab, regional and international organizations and entities operating in different social, economic, environmental, political, cultural and academic fields. It also uses all means available to support international organizations and United Nations agencies, providing them with the help they need to carry out their activities and achieve the goals for which they were created. Qatar has provided voluntary contributions to a number of United Nations funds and programmes, thereby benefiting around 100 of the Organization’s agencies and entities. In addition, Qatar intends to allow a number of international organizations to open regional offices in the country.
16. One of the priorities of Qatar in the area of development is to help States achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals through international cooperation projects. These include:
• Official development assistance: Qatar provides official development assistance on a voluntary basis as part of its support for the development financing agenda, the South-South cooperation agenda and triangular cooperation. Qatar, in fact, has provided international aid to friendly States in 13 different humanitarian sectors.
Government support accounts for more than 70 per cent of foreign aid while non-governmental support accounts for 30 per cent. In all, Qatari foreign aid – both governmental and non-governmental – has reached the level set for developed States of the North, standing at around US$ 2 billion annually, when calculated over a number of years.
• Economic and commercial assistance: eighty per cent of the economy of Qatar is open and it has free trade with all States. Economic and commercial agreements have been signed with various countries in all parts of the world. In addition, Qatar has been a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 1996 and a party to the General Agreement on Trade in Services since 1994.
• As part of its global development role, the Silatech Foundation has helped to provide employment opportunities to nearly 1 million young men and women since it was established in 2008, and it aims to provide 2 million jobs in the Arab world by 2020.
The Foundation has signed several agreements and memorandums of understanding, including the following: a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre in 2017 and three agreements in 2018 for the economic empowerment of Somali youth, thanks to collaboration between the Foundation, the American Refugee Committee and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
• Helping children gain access to education thanks to “Education above All”, a global initiative that includes four international programmes: “Educate a Child”,
“Fakhoora”, “Protecting the Right to Education in Situations of Armed Conflict and Insecurity” and “Reach Out to Asia”. In addition, Qatar has supported the Charlevoix Declaration on Quality Education for Girls, Adolescent Girls and Women in Developing Countries and it has pledged to provide education to 1 million girls by 2021.
• The “Educate a Child” programme works with 82 global partners, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In 2018, it announced the provision of education to 10 million children who had been deprived of schooling and the implementation of 65 projects in more than 50 countries for a total value of US$ 1.8 billion, a third of which was contributed by Qatar. The programme has pledged to expand its projects over the next five years. The “Fakhoora” programme has provided 5,065 student scholarships and refurbished 94 educational facilities, while the Qatar Fund for Development has made a contribution of 40 million Qatari riyals (QR) for the protection of Palestinian society. The programme “Protecting the Right
to Education in Situations of Armed Conflict and Insecurity” is working with a number of global partners, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Centre for Humanitarian Data of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). For its part, the
“Reach Out to Asia” programme has provided primary education and helped young people acquire skills for employment. It has assisted 753,753 beneficiaries directly and 3,120,967 indirectly.
• Environmental protection, climate change and food security: Qatar hosted the eighteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2012. Participating States successfully launched a new commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, with a specific timetable for the adoption of a world climate agreement by 2015. Agreement was also reached on a package of measures called the Doha Climate Gateway intended to stimulate the necessary response to climate change. This includes the creation of new institutions, agreed ways and means of financing climate-related technology and the delivery of that technology to developing countries. The Qatar Foundation and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research have announced a partnership to establish a climate research centre in Doha with a view to mitigating climate impacts.
Furthermore, Qatar led an arid land initiative that paved the way for the creation of the Global Drylands Alliance during the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly.
17. Qatar is committed to providing humanitarian assistance to help peoples afflicted by crises of all kinds, while abiding by the principles of impartiality and neutrality. For example:
• Rebuilding livelihoods: Qatar has partnered with OCHA to support that agency as it fulfils its mandate to coordinate humanitarian affairs in crisis-stricken areas. It also provides support for the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). In 2017, Qatar pledged to provide US$ 5 million to CERF to be paid out over five years: i.e. US$ 1 million annually. With that contribution, the total amount provided by Qatar to CERF since 2006 stands at US$ 13,150,000. Since 2006, in fact, OCHA has been an effective instrument for the provision of immediate funding in situations of emergency and protracted crisis. In addition, an agreement to support core OCHA resources with US$ 40 million over four years 2017–2020 was signed on the sidelines of the seventeenth Doha Forum in May 2017. Qatar has also established a standing committee for rescue, relief and humanitarian assistance in disaster-stricken areas of friendly States and has enacted laws on humanitarian and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and donor institutions.
• Post-conflict reconstruction: One aspect of Qatar’s strategic plan on international cooperation is to sponsor peace talks aimed at stopping armed conflicts and defusing tension; for example, in the Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon and Palestine. In September 2014, Qatar signed an agreement with the United Nations multi-partner trust fund, which is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to provide a US$ 88.5 million grant for recovery and reconstruction.
• Global South cooperation initiatives: Qatar contributed significantly to the launch of the South Fund for Development and Humanitarian Assistance, which includes the Group of 77 and China. The Fund was officially established during the Second South Summit held in Doha in 2005, in which 132 developing countries participated.
Qatar has contributed generously to the Fund and has provided financial support of US$ 500,000 for the organization and hosting of the Third South Summit in 2019.
18. Qatar has systematically promoted dialogue through the adoption of soft power diplomacy in regional and international affairs. The country’s international relations have focused on consolidating peace and stability in accordance with the principle of promoting peaceful settlement of international disputes, while the principle of neutrality has helped it to act as mediator and to build platforms for dialogue between different factions. For example, Qatar has acted as a mediator in conflicts in a number of Arab States such as Darfur, Yemen, Lebanon and Palestine, and it has participated in United Nations peacekeeping forces.
19. Charities, civil groups and other civil society organizations in Qatar are a major partner in development cooperation, particularly in vital sectors such as health and education. These institutions can respond quickly to emergencies. A total of 93 cooperation and partnership agreements have been concluded between the Qatar Foundation, the United Nations, humanitarian organizations and international and regional donors. The Qatar Red Crescent also provides international services through 18 offices which, in 2017, benefited 25 countries and 2,745,090 people.
20. On the sidelines of the Doha Forum, which was held on 15 and 16 December 2018, Qatar announced funding of US$ 500 million for United Nations organizations, including US$ 28 million for UNDP, US$ 8 million annually between 2019 and 2023 for UNHCR, US$ 4 million annually for UNICEF and US$ 15 million annually for the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee. Qatar will also support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East with US$ 16 million annually over the next two years.