New York / Information Office / October 09  

The State of Qatar stressed the importance of work based on the principle of cooperation and partnership to mitigate the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, pointing out that the pandemic did not exclude a country or a region in the world, and pointing to the strenuous efforts it made to deal with its repercussions.

This came in a statement made by HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, during the Second (Economic and Financial) Committee of the United Nations General Assembly at its 75th session to discuss "Building Back Better after COVID-19: ensuring a more equitable global economy, inclusive societies and sustainable recovery".

Her Excellency stated that Qatar continues to make unremitting efforts and has taken proactive steps to deal with the repercussions of the pandemic, noting the investment of the State of Qatar, which has contributed to innovation, technology and science in enabling urgent and effective measures to contain the pandemic and mitigate its impact and repercussions.

Her Excellency said that since the beginning of the pandemic, Qatar has succeeded in the process of moving quickly to online learning and without any interruption, taking into account the inclusiveness of education for all, which is a priority in the policy of the State of Qatar.

Based on the State of Qatar's belief in the importance of work established on the principle of cooperation and partnership, and to mitigate the repercussions of the pandemic, HE the Ambassador added that the State of Qatar since the beginning of the crisis has provided medical assistance to nearly 78 countries.

Her Excellency explained that the total governmental and non-governmental aid amounted to more than USD 89 million, as USD 20 million were allocated to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations, and USD 10 million to the World Health Organization.

Her Excellency added that the State of Qatar is continuing its development path, and establishes Qatar National Vision 2030 as a strong framework for achieving sustainable development, and Qatar presented during the sessions of the high-level political forum, voluntary national reviews that gave a picture of the progress made in the framework of the implementation of the sustainable development goals that were discussed, expressing the aspiration of the State of Qatar to present the Voluntary National Reviews in 2021.

Her Excellency also expressed the State of Qatar's happiness to host the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, to be held in Doha from Jan. 23-27, 2022, stressing that Qatar will spare no effort to provide all the requirements for the success of this conference, and for the next work program to be an important opportunity to meet the challenges and achieve comprehensive, equitable and sustainable growth.

Her Excellency stated that the State of Qatar has played a pioneering role in providing development and relief aid, and is considered among the major countries supporting the United Nations in various fields.

In this context, Her Excellency pointed out that the State of Qatar announced in 2018 a multi-year non-allocated support for the basic resources of the United Nations organizations in the amount of USD 500 million.

Her Excellency explained that part of this support has been allocated as a multi-year contribution, totaling USD 20 million, to support the UNDP's Sustainable Development Goals Acceleration Labs network, and these laboratories are currently providing innovative measures and solutions to the current challenges resulting from the spread of the pandemic.

Based on the State of Qatar's belief that there is a role for everyone to address climate change, HE the Ambassador said that Qatar played a pioneering role in the Global Climate Action Summit held in September 2019, where HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani announced a contribution of USD 100 million to support Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to deal with climate change.

In order to ensure that this pledge is translated into reality, Her Excellency explained that Qatar Fund For Development (QFFD) is currently working on developing a mechanism to respond to the challenges related to climate change in Small Island Developing States and LDCs, through a 10-year strategy aimed at supporting these countries in achieving the ambitious goals of Paris Agreement and their efforts in the field of sustainable development. In another point of her speech, Her Excellency said that at a time when the unjust and illegal blockade on the State of Qatar continues under false pretenses, Qatar is continuing in vigorous and confident steps its approach based on the principle of cooperation and partnership with the international community, and supporting efforts to create a stable international environment conducive to sustainable development.