The Shura Council held its weekly meeting Monday under the chairmanship of its Speaker HE Hassan bin Abdullah al-Ghanim. At the beginning of the sitting held at the Council's Tamim bin Hamad Hall, the Council welcomed the country's hosting of the 44th Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) scheduled on Tuesday, appreciating in this context the keenness of the GCC leaders to strengthen joint Gulf action, in a way that contributes to achieving development and prosperity for the GCC countries and the aspirations of their citizens.
In another context, the Council strongly condemned the resumption of Israeli occupation forces' barbaric aggression against the Gaza Strip, after the end of the pause reached thanks to Qatari efforts, stressing that the international community's failure to take a firm position obligating Israel to respect international law would exacerbate the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza and encourage the occupying entity to continue its tyranny.
After that, HE the Secretary-General of the Shura Council Dr Ahmed bin Nasser al-Fadala read out the agenda, and the minutes of the previous session were approved, as the Council unanimously agreed that the session would be confidential. During the session, the Council discussed the state's draft general budget for the fiscal year 2024, in the presence of HE the Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari along with a number of the ministry's senior officials.
During the discussions, HE the Minister of Finance provided a comprehensive explanation of the draft general budget and answered the questions and inquiries of the Council members, related to the general budget's sections. HE al-Ghanim hailed His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani's wise policy manifested in His Highness' special attention to the sections of the draft budget for the fiscal year 2024.
The Shura Council members highlighted the foundations of the general budget project, most notably the interest in the main sectors such as health and education, and the continued implementation of vital and infrastructure projects, in a way that ensures the achievement of the Qatar National Vision 2030.
In their interventions, the Council members appreciated the country's achievements and keenness to enhance the citizen well-being, in accordance with the Amir's sound directives. The members also voiced hopes the country would achieve further progress and development under the Amir's wise leadership.
The Council also discussed a government bill on public and private state property and referred it to the Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee to scrutinize and submit a report on it to the Council.
