by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Riyadh : A Saudi official has hinted that the kingdom is moving forward with a plan to dig a canal that may turn neighbouring Qatari peninsula into an island, amid a diplomatic feud between the Gulf nations.
“I am impatiently waiting for details on the implementation of the Salwa island project, a great, historic project that will change the geography of the region,” Saud al-Qahtani, a senior adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, tweeted on Friday.
The plan, which would physically separate the Qatari peninsula from the Saudi mainland, is the latest stress point in a highly fractious 14-month long dispute between the two states, The News International reported.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism and being too close to Riyadh´s archrival, Iran.
Doha denied the charges.
In April, the pro-government Sabq news website reported government plans to build a channel — 60km long and 200m wide — stretching across the kingdom’s border with Qatar.
Part of the canal, which would cost up to $750 million, would be reserved for a planned nuclear waste facility, it said.
Both Saudi and Qatar authorities did not respond to requests for comment and there was no immediate reaction on the plan from Qatar, The News International reported.
After the dispute erupted last year, Qatar — a small peninsula nation — found its only land border closed, its state-owned airline barred from using its neighbours’ airspace, and Qatari residents expelled from the boycotting nations.
Mediation efforts led by Kuwait and the US, which has its largest Middle East air base in Qatar, have so far failed to resolve the dispute.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World, Opinions
Salman Mohamed Kaldari is the chairman of the coordinating committee for the Single Window System Management
By Peter Alagos,
The ‘Own your Factory in Qatar in 72 Hours’ project, a government initiative aimed at fast-tracking the establishment of more manufacturing companies and factories in Qatar, has attracted 9,349 applications from local and international companies representing major industrial sectors.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Salman Mohamed Kaldari, the chairman of the coordinating committee for the Single Window System Management, said the project attracted investors vying for 250 opportunities in the industrial sector, mainly in eight major areas: food, paper, medical, chemical, electrical, machinery and automotive, rubber and plastics, and metals.
Kaldari noted that the food sector took the lion’s share or 34% of the total number of registered investors with 3,168 applications, while applications in the metal sector stood at 1,334. This was followed by the paper sector with 1,086 applications, rubber and plastics sector (941 applications), chemical (826), medical (710), electrical (732), and machinery and vehicles (552).
Of the total number of applications, Kaldari said Qatari investors comprise nearly 85%, while around 15% are 3,000 investors from 52 countries, including Russia, Germany, France, China, India, Iran, and Pakistan, among others.
Aside from licensing, the project guarantees qualified investors with land readiness and immediate access to visas, including readiness of industrial infrastructure like water, electricity, gas, and roads, as well as priority for purchases with local manufacturers.
Kaldari said other privileges include platforms for exports, 10-year income tax exemption, customs exemptions for raw materials, and the provision of a 10% support for national and government products, in addition to financing services provided by Qatar Development Bank (QDB).
Kaldari said the committee will take a month to study the applications submitted by investors. After selecting qualified investors, the winners will be given a wide range of privileges like environmental and operational licenses with a plot of land.
He said the committee distributed yesterday 75 market studies on the basic activities proposed to investors. It also provided them with information on how to conduct feasibility studies based on the products needed in the domestic market.
Established in 2016, the coordinating committee for the Single Window System Management represents one of the key government initiatives launched to develop Qatar’s business environment, stimulate real participation of the private sector, encourage domestic and foreign investments and channel them towards sectors with added value to the national economy in line with Qatar National Vision 2030, Kaldari said.
He said the committee’s first initiative was the launch of the Single Window System, which streamlines the administrative procedures in the state. The second initiative, the ‘Own your Factory in Qatar’, helps investors in the industrial sector get all the necessary facilities to start a business in just 72 hours.
The initiative is spearheaded by the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Energy and Industry, Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Ministry of Economy and Commerce, and Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, as well as QDB, Manateq, and Qatar Chamber.
(Source: Gulf Times)
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
A meeting of the Arab Anti-Terror Quartet, comprised of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE. (AFP)
Doha : Qatar has released its first National List of Terrorist Classification which includes 20 individuals and eight entities, an official source said on Sunday.
The Qatari National Committee to Combat Terrorism said on its website that the terror list included “Sinai Province’ and the Yemeni charity named Al-Ehsan, reports Xinhua news agency.
The list is based on a law on “combating terrorism” issued last July by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the statement said.
The Qatari move came one day after the signing of an agreement between Saudi Arabia and the US worth $12.5 billion during the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to Washington.
The Qatar government has issued the terror list in response to one of the 13 demands which were announced by the quartet of Arab countries boycotting Qatar,
The demands list included the closure of the Al-Jazeera channel, the severing of links with Iran, closing of a Turkish military base on Qatari soil, and the severing of relations with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut all diplomatic and transportation ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Doha rejected the demands and the charges.
However, Qatar later signed a number of agreements on combating the financing of terrorism with major countries.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Doha : Qatar has announced a $50 million donation to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), officials said.
The government communications office and Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the donation came during the extraordinary ministerial meeting of UNRWA held in Rome, Italy in the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Xinhua reported.
Subsequently, Qatar also announced that it has continued to finance projects implemented by the UNRWA, especially in the education and health sectors.
In February, Qatar announced the distribution of 9 million dollars of emergency aid of medicines, medical supplies, foodstuff, and fuel to operate hospital generators in the Gaza Strip.
Qatar is facing a nine-month boycott by its Gulf allies, which accused Qatar of supporting extremist political movements in the Middle East, including Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas.
Qatar has categorically denied the allegations.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Doha : Qatar and Oman have signed an agreement aimed at enhancing trade and economic ties despite the ongoing embargo, the media reported.
Citing Qatar News Agency, Xinhua reported that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on Sunday covers food production, marketing, joint investment and export of Omani products to Qatar.
The MoU was signed in the presence of the dignitaries of both countries.
Since the Gulf crisis began, Qatar is trying to shield itself from regional isolation, and increase its multilateral cooperation with other countries.
The volume of product-exchange between Oman and Qatar have risen two to three times since then.
—IANS
