Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani
Doha, Qatar: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani chaired the Cabinet's regular meeting held at its seat at the Amiri Diwan on Wednesday morning.
After the meeting, Minister of Justice and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs HE Ibrahim bin Ali Al Mohannadi issued the following statement:
At the outset of the meeting, the Cabinet welcomed the results of the 45th session of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which was held in Kuwait on Sunday, with the participation of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani
The Cabinet praised the efforts of the sisterly State of Kuwait, which contributed to the success attained by the summit, which was reflected in its final statement and the Kuwait Declaration that emphasized strengthening of the joint Gulf action and positions towards regional and international developments.
The Cabinet then considered the topics on its agenda. It took note of the Shura Council's approval of the draft state budget for the fiscal year 2025, and the law approving it.
The Cabinet also approved a draft law amending some provisions of the Income Tax Law issued by Law No. 24 of 2018 and referred it to the Shura Council.
The draft amendment to the law was prepared to enable multinational companies to submit their tax returns related to the minimum supplementary tax in the country, within the framework of achieving the requirements of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Group of Twenty (G20). The aim is to keep pace with international best practices and international cooperation in the field of taxation, and to implement global rules to combat tax base erosion and profit shifting for multinational companies.
The Cabinet approved a draft Cabinet decision amending some provisions of the Executive Bylaw of the Customs Law issued by Cabinet Resolution No. 21 of 2004. The draft aims to facilitate and ease customs procedures to achieve the shortest possible time rate for releasing goods at customs ports.
The Cabinet approved the draft Cabinet decision to exempt some materials imported by the Ministry of Defense from customs duties.
The Cabinet also approved the draft decision of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to consider the Umm Al Sheif area a nature reserve, with the aim of preserving the marine environment and its biodiversity, and to avoid damage to pearl oysters in this area as a result of human activities such as fishing and maritime navigation.
The Cabinet approved the draft resolution of the President of the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation to form a technical committee to estimate the compensation due for damages to public electrical and water facilities, and to determine its competencies and operating system. The project is being prepared in implementation of the provisions of Law No. 13 of 2024 regarding the protection of public electrical and water installations.
The Cabinet also approved a draft memorandum of understanding on conducting political consultations on issues of common interest between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a draft memorandum of understanding on security cooperation between the Ministry of Interior of the State of Qatar and the Ministry of Interior of Hungary, and a draft air services agreement between the governments of the State of Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
The Cabinet concluded its meeting by reviewing three reports and taking appropriate decisions regarding them, including a report on the results of the 25th meeting of the Ministerial Committee to follow up on the implementation of decisions related to joint work in the GCC countries, a report on the results of the third meeting on cybersecurity for GCC countries, and a report on the results of the first session of the Qatari-Uzbek Joint Committee for Economic, Commercial and Technical Cooperation.
