This week’s nationwide Watan 2025 exercise, marked by a countrywide emergency alert, high-level visits and field scenarios, is a timely reminder that national security is not an occasional priority but a continuous practice. Mobile users across Qatar yesterday received a bilingual notification clarifying that the message was part of the scheduled drill.
The clear, calm communication reinforced an important point: preparedness depends as much on public trust and information as it does on the hardware of response.
Minister of Interior and Commander of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) H E Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani has also toured the operations room and received briefings on the mechanisms for emergency management.
Watan 2025 has received high-level senior domestic and international figures, including Attorney General H E Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi and UN Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security, Gilles Michaud. Their reviews of field scenarios and coordination procedures not only endorse Qatar’s approach but also open channels for sharing best practice and strengthening international cooperation in safety and crisis response. That exchange matters, because threats are increasingly transnational and complex.
This year’s exercise builds on a well-established tradition. Recent editions of Watan have expanded in scale and scope, from dozens of agencies in 2023 to the broad, multi-axis drills that helped underpin Qatar’s internationally praised security arrangements for major events such as the FIFA World Cup.
For the public, Watan’s most visible benefit is reassurance: that our institutions are refining coordination and rehearsing rapid, professional responses so that if an emergency arises, the reaction will be swift and cohesive. Qatar’s sustained emphasis on preparedness reflects the nation’s broader commitment to safeguarding lives, infrastructure and civic life.
That commitment deserves recognition, public confidence, and continued support.
