Department's Vision:

To achieve effective and continuous communication between various official and semi-official institutions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To coordinate with friendly and disadvantaged countries and international organizations to advance the sustainable development campaign. To play an active and responsible role towards the international community and to contribute to the realization of Qatar National Vision 2030.

Mission:

To promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation and work with friendly countries, international and regional organizations and global bodies through guiding the development policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To take advantage of the opportunities it offers to build individual and institutional abilities needed to meet the increasing challenges for efficient and effective development. To make maximum use of contributions, grants and foreign aid paid to the United Nations and other international bodies. In addition, to achieving maximum visibility, international partnerships, and Qatar's presence in the international and regional organizations and global bodies. To initiate areas of cooperation with friendly countries, through joint committees, investment and development fields.

Why is International Cooperation important for development?

Sustainable development should support the required balance between human, economic and environmental development, and should be characterized by sustainability, quality and efficiency.  The inevitable mechanism for achieving this development depends on improving the quality and efficiency of both the individual and the institution. At the United Nations, human development of individuals is essential and therefore the correct term for development is not only "sustainable development" but, rather "sustainable human development", and based on the international momentum to do so holistically, the United Nations adopted the Millennium Development Goals in 2000. It also adopted the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in September 2015, to ensure that the international development agenda achieves 17 sustainable human development goals by 2030.

Years ago, under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar decided to formulate a national strategic vision called Qatar National Vision 2030, years before the adoption of the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations in 2015. His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, was vigilant enough to establish a national team that includes various practicable teams to implement a national plan to serve and realize this vision. The wise and responsible leadership of His Highness realized that by 2015, when the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals was reached, the international community would need an additional period of time until 2030 to continue its comprehensive efforts to achieve sustainable human development. Therefore, Qatar decided to define 2030 on its agenda to achieve its vision of promoting social, economic and environmental life on its soil, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) to ensure security, stability and human rights in Qatar; this is the essence and benefits of realizing Qatar National Vision 2030.

The Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which I have the honor of managing, was established to partner with other departments to achieve Qatar's National Vision 2030. The Department has become a key player with the Qatari teams charged with implementing Qatar's strategic development plan. It has also prepared the sectorial strategy for international cooperation as part of the second national strategy 2017-2022, that was launched in early of 2017 to achieve Qatar's National Vision 2030.

The sectorial strategy for international cooperation has identified a major outcome: international cooperation and effective and organized partnerships. The intermediate results for achieving this key outcome include:

• National development efforts that contribute to building peace and security at the regional and international levels.
• Effective human and institutional capacities for international cooperation.
• Improved communications to support consistency in international cooperation activity.

Why is international cooperation considered to be relevant to development?

International cooperation can be defined as the mutual collective work carried out by the countries of the world to achieve the common good of the international community with a view to developing the life of the international community for the better by finding solutions to its existing problems or improving its economic, political, social, cultural and scientific conditions.

This cooperation enhances and fortifies political and economic stability through achieving the objectives of all the social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainable development and facilitates access to concessional loans and development assistance, and helps to bring peoples together, promote their common interests and resolve the disputes among  members of the international community.

Assisting the least developed countries in achieving the internationally agreed development goals is a key objective of several initiatives within Qatar's international cooperation policies. The reduction of poverty and the provision of jobs in the infrastructure projects, as well as the provision of education and health services, is one of the main areas on which this program focuses. Qatar's development and relief contributions have been extended to more than 100 countries around the world. Qatar continues to coordinate with governmental and non-governmental organizations to provide relief and development support. Qatar supports more than 10 million children around the world and builds the capacity of 1.2 million Arab youth to be effective and productive in their communities. During the period 2011-2015, the amount of assistance provided by the State of Qatar tripled to QR 13 billion.

The State of Qatar is keen to promote dialogue through soft power diplomacy initiatives in regional and international affairs. In its international relations, the State of Qatar focuses on enhancing security, peace and stability in line with the purposes and principles of the United Nations. The vision of benefiting from international cooperation is supposed to enhance the honorable image of Qatar in the international arena and supplement the political capital of the state. It is also expected to  achieve the objectives of Qatar National Vision 2030 by providing means for technical assistance, capacity-building, training and exchange of knowledge that Qatar can access worldwide  through its diplomatic efforts and international relations.

The Department of International Cooperation is competent with the following:

• Coordinate and cooperate with the competent authorities of the State on the promotion of all areas of technical cooperation between the State and other States.
• Identify the needs of the State's governmental agencies in terms of technical cooperation activities provided by the United Nations, its specialized agencies and other Arab, regional and international organizations, in accordance with the plans and programs developed, and take action to implement the same.
• Study and analyze technical cooperation activities provided by the international organizations and bodies in the area of expertise and consultations, upgrading and training, information, symposiums and conferences, publications, bulletins, reports, statistics, studies and research, information systems and programs, and identify ways to benefit therefrom.
• Follow-up programs and activities of Arab, regional and international organizations and bodies of a technical nature, as well as the decisions and recommendations issued by them, and prepare action plans to benefit from these programs and activities in cooperation with the competent authorities.
• Prepare studies and research related to technical cooperation activities with Arab, regional and international organizations, in coordination with government agencies in the State.
• Organize and follow up on ways to benefit from the technical aid provided by the United Nations and specialized agencies and organizations, in coordination with the concerned authorities in the State, and regulate the state’s contribution to the requested international tasks or arrangements.
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• Prepare the annual report on technical cooperation activities of government agencies in the State with international organizations.
• Participate in the preparation of the State's policy in the area of development and humanitarian assistance and aid to support sustainable development in developing countries, in line with the State’s priorities and international resolutions and recommendations in this respect, and in coordination with the competent authorities.
• Count and record the development assistance provided by the State to outside world and update the same annually, in coordination with the competent authorities.
• Prepare reports, studies and research on development and humanitarian aid provided by the State to other countries, and document the same at the international organizations and bodies.
• Provide technical advice to State agencies and non-governmental organizations concerned with the provision of development and humanitarian assistance.
• Follow-up on the work of the joint committees in the area of international cooperation, in coordination with the relevant administrative units at the Ministry and the competent authorities of the State.

Sections of International Cooperation Department