Brussels – Information Office – 01 September

Qatar's Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani has underlined that "the recent developments related to the Gulf crisis have not been needed, especially in this period of time of multiple conflicts."

Speaking at a joint press conference held here today with HE Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium Didier Reynders, HE the Foreign Minister affirmed that the Gulf crisis is fabricated and that it broke out on the basis of an electronic attack targeting the State of Qatar followed by a siege of the Qatari people and is still ongoing for more than 90 days. HE the Minister added that the despair of the siege countries has reached the point of buying advertising seconds in various television stations to market their ideas against the State of Qatar. HE the Foreign Minister noted that his Belgian counterpart is well aware that Qatar is participating in the global efforts to combat terrorism and is working with its partners at the international level to confront terrorism and financing of terrorist activities.

"We have talked about terrorism in its true sense, in accordance with the international definition, not on the basis of its definition by the siege countries ," HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said.

HE the Foreign Minister described the meeting with his Belgian counterpart as fruitful and discussed the relations between the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Belgium, in addition to the various agreements that will be signed during the visit of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al -Thani to the Kingdom of Belgium.

"We appreciate the role of Belgium in the various humanitarian issues in the region, especially in Syria," HE the Foreign Minister said, stressing that the State of Qatar strongly advocates the accountability of war criminals. He said : "We express our desire and will to strengthen this cooperation in the future."

"We have had the opportunity to discuss various developments of common concern in Libya and Iraq, as well as the issue of combating terrorism and the financing of Islamic centres in Europe," HE the Minister said, adding that "Qatar encourages any new idea or mechanism that emphasizes the principle of transparency in terms of funding and exchange of information against terrorism ".

For his part, the Belgian Foreign Minister said that he had discussed with the HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al -Thani, bilateral relations between the two countries as well as the situation in the region which is witnessing various conflicts.

"There are ongoing discussions between the two governments on a number of agreements and we are very open to completing them. This will be possible during the visit of HH the Emir of the State of Qatar to Belgium before the end of the current year, and we are honoured to welcome His Highness in Belgium," he added.

We also work together in the fight against terrorism and in different parts of the world, such as Syria and Iraq, and based on the various talks with the Gulf countries, we need to do more to stop the funding of terrorist activities," he said, adding that "Belgium and the rest of Europe include an important Muslim community that need assistance to secure education and building of mosques, so there has been extensive discussion between the two countries in this area, and we will continue to discuss with the State of Qatar how to organize ways to finance Islamic centres and institutions."

He said : " I have met with the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia a few weeks ago, and we in Belgium and Europe are ready to contribute to the dialogue with the parties in the region." "This task lies with the Gulf parties, but we are ready to help if our intervention is needed.", HE the Belgian Foreign Minister added.