Q Life Magazine Qatar Moving Forward | Page 31

31 Qatar works closely with the international community to defeat terrorism through bilateral defence agreements and global counterterrorism initiatives. These include: Qatar has also adopted comprehensive measures to combat terrorism and prevent terrorism financing. Efforts include: • • Prohibiting individuals and entities from collecting and distributing donations, and limiting the donation collection process exclusively to charitable institutions. • Collaborating between all relevant law enforcement agencies to implement proactive measures to prevent providing material support towards areas of conflict. • Establishing direct channels aimed at the exchange of intelligence information with other security agencies domestically and abroad. • On 20 July 2017, His Highness the Amir further amended anti-terror legislation in Qatar. The decree set rules for defining terrorism, acts of terrorism and the financing of terrorism. • On 21 March 2018, the Qatari National Counter- Terrorism Committee placed 28 individuals and entities on a terrorism list, including several Qatar’s nationals. This list is part of Qatar’s ongoing commitment to combat terrorism and terrorism financing. • • • • Investing $5 billion to significantly expand Al-Udeid Air Base, which is home to the Central Command of US operations, as well as the US military equipment pre-positioning and command facilities at Camp As Sayliyah. Acting as a full partner and active participant in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and providing significant support facilitating US military operations in the region through Al-Udeid. On 11 July 2017, Qatar became the first country to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US outlining future efforts it can take to fortify its fight against terrorism. Qatar is a founding member of the Global Counter Terrorism Forum, through which it coordinates counter-terrorism initiatives with 29 other member countries, including the US, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. It is also a member of the Financial Action Task Force, which is an intergovernmental body dedicated to combatting terrorism.