The change decided by the emir includes seven ministries, including a new deputy prime minister and secretary of state for defense affairs (and intelligence). A referendum has decided to eliminate voting for the Shura Council and open it to non-native citizens for election. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson described as “inaccurate” rumors that Qatar no longer plays the role of mediator and that the Doha office of the Palestinian movement has been closed.
Doha () – An attempt to rebalance forces at the internal and regional level, in a phase of deep tensions and possible changes that affect the entire Middle East region, and at the same time an internal settling of accounts that affects, first Firstly, to those who were in charge of mediating the truce in Gaza. According to the state news agency QNAthe restructuring of the government decided yesterday by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, includes seven ministries; On the other hand, it has been carried out immediately after the constitutional referendum that overwhelmingly approved the replacement of voting for the Shura Council by direct appointments. The president of the Gulf country also chose Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Thani as deputy prime minister and secretary of state for defense affairs.
The restructuring involved members who were already part of the cabinet, but also incorporated new figures in leading roles. The Emir appointed Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani as the new Minister of Commerce and Industry. He is the head of investments in Asia-Pacific and Africa at the Qatar Investment Authority and president of the Qatari telecommunications group Ooredoo. At the moment it is not known whether he will retain these positions or be replaced.
Al Thani elected Lolwah bint Rashid Al-Khater as the new Minister of Education, who was serving as Secretary of State for International Cooperation and was in charge of Doha’s global humanitarian engagement, especially in Gaza and Lebanon. The new minister also led mediation on behalf of Qatar to facilitate the return of dozens of Ukrainian children from Russia or the territories occupied by Moscow’s army. Mariam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad took her place as the new Minister of International Cooperation.
The emir also appointed Buthaina bint Ali al-Nuaimi as Minister of Social Development and Family, Mansur bin Ibrahim Al Mahmoud as Minister of Health and Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Muhammad Al Thani as the new Minister of Transport. Serving as CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority will be Mohammed Al Sowaidi, who was in charge of the $510 billion sovereign wealth fund’s investments in the Americas and established the fund’s offices and investment team in New York. He replaces Mansour Ibrahim al-Mahmoud in the QIA, whom the emir has appointed to Health.
The reshuffle took place a week after the referendum on a series of constitutional amendments, which, among other things, put an end to elections for the Shura Consultative Council, whose members will, in the future, be directly appointed. The last elections, held a year before Qatar hosted the World Cup, under intense international scrutiny for human rights violations, had fueled divisions, as only descendants of Qataris who were citizens in 1930 they had the right to vote and stand as candidates, and in addition the electoral constituencies had been drawn according to tribal criteria. Once again, the vote showed overwhelming support for all residents with Qatari citizenship to hold ministerial positions, and not just those born in the country.
Finally, Qatari leaders have recently referred, calling them “inaccurate”, to rumors that Doha has withdrawn as a mediator between Hamas and Israel for a truce in Gaza with the release of hostages, and that it had been closed the headquarters of the Palestinian movement in Doha. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari stated that the articles published in recent days were “inaccurate” and added that 10 days ago he had informed the parties of a “suspension” in the mediation in case it is not resolved. reach an agreement in this round of talks. Negotiations, he continued, will resume when the parties demonstrate “seriousness in ending the brutal war and the continued suffering of civilians.”
When the parties show seriousness, he stressed, Qatar will once again be “on the front line to make all possible efforts to end the war and return prisoners and detainees.” The spokesperson reiterated that Doha remains committed to supporting Palestinians in obtaining their rights and an independent state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Finally, Al-Ansari invited information to be obtained from official and reliable sources, denying the news of the closure of the Hamas office in the capital because “it is no longer useful for its purpose.” “The main objective of the presence of the office [de Hamás] in Qatar – the spokesperson concluded – is to be a channel of communication between interested parties” that allowed ceasefire agreements and led to the exchange of prisoners and hostages, among them women and children, in November 2023.
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