Doha, Qatar: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani will be part of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s delegation to the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, said Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Dr. Majed bin Mohammad Al Ansari.
“During the UNGA meetings from September 22 to 28, the Prime Minister will hold many bilateral meetings that will be attended by many Qatari officials,” said Al Ansari said in MoFA’s weekly press briefing.
He added that the Qatar would press on its efforts and contacts in various ways to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and that all mediators are making huge efforts to end the war in Gaza. Responding to different questions regarding current status of Gaza ceasefire, he said the process was ongoing, channels of communication were open and Qatar along its regional, international partners was trying to find ways to reach ceasefire in Gaza.
He said that the channels of communication were working through online means as well as physical meetings. He said that efforts for Gaza ceasefire were still ongoing. “The visits and meetings are ongoing ... I can’t comment on any recent development ... it’s an ongoing process where the language (of the ceasefire deal draft) is being revised to address differences.
“Regarding what happened during its past period, this mediation and all forms of mediation with similar characteristics include all forms of communication, interpersonal, collective, in-person, via telephone, and via video call, all possible forms, communication channels are open.” He said that part of these efforts were Monday’s phone call that the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs received from UN Secretary-General H E Antonio Guterres and a meeting he held in Doha with Speaker of the House of Commons of the British Parliament H E Lindsay Hoyle. “The phone conversation and the meeting discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Al Ansari said that on Friday, Minister of State at the MoFA, H E Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi, chaired Qatar’s delegation to the meetings of the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee tasked with international action to stop the war in Gaza held in Madrid.
Al Ansari said that the meeting issued a statement stressing that the two-state solution is the only way to achieve lasting peace and security and that it is important for the Palestinian Authority to fully regain control over the Rafah crossing and the rest of the borders, and for the occupying Israeli forces to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphi Corridor. It also stressed that the State of Palestine must be internationally recognised and gain a permanent UN membership.
