Qatar’s annual development aid stands at $2bn, says minister

The share of assistance from Qatar has exceeded the official development assistance (ODA) of developed countries in the North, as Qatar’s annual foreign and non-government assistance stands at almost $2bn, HE the Minister of Finance Ali Sherif al-Emadi said yesterday.Speaking at the opening session of the ‘High-Level Conference on Financing for Development and the Means of Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, HE al-Emadi pointed out that while Qatar is not “legally obliged” to pay the amount, the State provides it out of its belief in the importance of supporting the agenda of the South-South Co-operation (SSC) and Triangular Co-operation (TC), and financing for development agenda.“The provision of such assistance is positively reflected on the achievement of international peace and security, human rights and development for all, in order to achieve peaceful, integrated and non-marginalised societies, based on strong institutions that are more accountable and efficient and more resilient to addressing the scourge of extremism and the threat of terrorism, in accordance with Millennium Development Goals 11 and 16, which are the focus of Qatar’s development policy,” HE al-Emadi said.Committed to strengthening regional and international partnerships, he said Qatar would continue to play “a prominent and increasingly important role” in providing development and relief assistance to countries facing economic and humanitarian crises and natural disasters, in addition to the ODA provided by the State voluntarily.He said Qatar has also provided international assistance to friendly countries among 13 sectors for various global humanitarian and development initiatives. “Government support for aid reaches more than 70% of foreign aid compared to non-government assistance, indicating the political will towards fulfilling Qatar’s external commitments in line with its role as an active and responsible member of the international community,” HE the minister said.According to HE al-Emadi, 30% of the aid comes from external support in the form of donations from charitable and humanitarian organisations, Qatari donor institutions, whose work follow “the best international standards”, and in partnership with specialised international agencies, as well as institutions at the regional and sub-regional levels and other international counterparts.He stressed that in the past years Qatar had expanded its external assistance, both geographically and sectorally, in the form of donations, grants, material or technical grants, or soft loans “that are often written off”. These efforts also included support of humanitarian and development projects and programmes. Qatar has focused on the education sector at the forefront of the sectors receiving aid from the total development assistance in order to activate the fourth development objective, the minister noted.As part of its efforts to fulfil its commitment to the implementation of the 2030 sustainable development plan, HE al-Emadi said Qatar presented the voluntary national review during the 2017 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which provided a transparent picture of its development efforts and its effective role at the international level.HE al-Emadi said he hopes that a voluntary national review would be presented next year to shed more light on the alignment of Qatar’s national priorities with the goals of the 2030 sustainable development plan.Further, he stressed that Qatar would continue its efforts as an active partner in the international community despite regional and global challenges “to achieve the common objectives desired by all and meet the challenges in all areas of common interest in accordance with the objectives and Charter of the United Nations”. He noted that Doha would remain “a platform for co-operation between all countries and parties that believe in the importance of joint action to meet the challenges facing the international community”.