The Shura Council held its regular weekly meeting yesterday under the chairmanship of Speaker H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud.
At the beginning of the meeting, H E Speaker of the Shura Council congratulated H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani on the confidence bestowed on him from Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, by appointing him as Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, expressing aspiration to continue the fruitful and constructive cooperation between the Shura Council and the esteemed Government in the next phase.
H E the Speaker also expressed thanks and appreciation to H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani for his efforts in serving the homeland and for his keenness during his term as Prime Minister to cooperate with the Shura Council and follow-up procedures to implement its recommendations.
On the other hand, H E Al Mahmoud renewed the State of Qatar’s firm stances towards the Palestinian cause, stressing that there will be no peace in the region unless the full rights of the Palestinian people are recognised, foremost of which is the right to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
His Excellency also stressed that any peace projects that are not in accordance with international law, international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative cannot lead to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, and would increase tension and hinder the chances of a solution. During the meeting, the Council discussed a draft law regulating the press, publications, publishing, media activities and the arts.
The draft law consists of 74 articles distributed in 12 chapters. It includes provisions relating to the regulation of the press, media, printing press, publishing house, circulation and distribution of publications, cinemas, theaters, artistic production, private broadcasting stations, advertising, public relations and media services offices.
After discussion, the Council decided to refer the draft to a joint committee comprising the Cultural Affairs and Information Committee and the Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee to study it and submit a report thereon to the Council. At the end of the meeting, H E Speaker of the Shura Council briefed the members on his participation along with his accompanying delegation in the 15th session of the Conference of the Federation of Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, during the period from January 27 to 30, as well as his meetings on the sidelines of the conference with H E President of Burkina Faso and a number of heads of parliaments of Islamic countries.
