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 functions and Mandates of the Department of International Cooperation:

• Coordinating and cooperating with the ministries in the state and their competent bodies and other government bodies to promote cooperation in all political, economic, military, cultural, artistic and other fields between the state and other countries.
• Identifying all the requirements of government agencies in the country for technical cooperation activities extended  by the United Nations and its specialized agencies and other international and Arab organizations, in accordance with the approved plans and programs, and taking action to implement them.
• Studying and analyzing technical cooperation activities provided by international organizations and bodies in the fields of expertise, consultation, training, information, seminars, conferences, publications, newsletters, reports and statistics, studies and research, and information systems and programs.
• Following up the programs and activities of technical nature of Arab, regional and international organizations and bodies, and the decisions and recommendations issued by these bodies, and preparing plans of action to benefit from these programs and activities in cooperation with competent authorities.
• Preparing the studies and research related to the activities of technical cooperation with Arab, regional and international organizations and bodies, in coordination with competent government  agencies.
• Organizing and following up the ways through which to benefit  from technical assistance provided by the United Nations and specialized agencies and organizations, in coordination with the concerned authorities of the state, and organizing the contribution of the state to the required  international tasks and functions.
• Preparing the annual report on the activities of technical cooperation of government agencies in the state with international organizations and bodies.
• Participating in the development of the state policy in the field of aid and developmental  and humanitarian assistance to support the economic and social development in developing countries, in coordination with the competent authorities and in line with the priorities of the state and relevant international resolutions and recommendations.
• Listing, registering  and annually updating the data of development assistance provided by the state, in coordination with competent authorities.
• Preparing reports, studies and research on development and humanitarian assistance provided by the state to Arab and foreign countries and sharing them with international organizations and bodies.
• Providing technical advice to state agencies and non-governmental organizations concerned with the provision of development and humanitarian assistance.
• Following up the work of the joint committees in the field of international cooperation in coordination with the administrative  units of the ministry and the competent authorities in the state.

Sections of International Cooperation Department