aHE Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed on Sunday praised Qatar's pivotal role in supporting and assisting the United Nations in promoting fragile societies, combating poverty, human trafficking and other issues that remain the biggest challenge for the world. Addressing the plenary session of the 2017 Doha Forum, the UN official welcomed the State of Qatar's solidarity with the United Nations in working to reduce conflicts and fight climate change, unemployment among youth, violence, nationalism, populism, xenophobia and inequality, stressing that many people lost confidence on governing regimes for their inability to deal with such issues.

The importance of the Doha Forum continues year after year, especially in its ongoing edition which discusses stability, development and refugees as one of the world's top issues, said HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani. Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), HE the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations said that the world is undergoing complex crises that led to a new wave of asylum, in which the refugees suffer many problems and social and economic difficulties, pointing out that economic and social aspects associated with the crises must be tackled to eliminate this vicious cycle of crises, violence and killing.

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani patronized the opening of the 17th edition of the Doha Forum, which is being held under the theme "Development, Stability and Refugee Crisis" in the presence of HE President of the Republic of Sudan Field Marshal Omar Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir, HE President of Republic of Mali Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, HE Prime Minister of the Lebanese Republic Saad Al Hariri and HE Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia Hassan Ali Khayre, as well as a number of Their Excellencies heads of delegations participating in the Forum, at the Doha Sheraton Hotel on Sunday morning. The opening ceremony was attended by HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani and a number of Their Excellences ministers and heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Qatar. The opening was also attended by a number of businessmen, academics, parliamentarians, intellectuals, journalists, representatives of regional and international organizations and representatives of civil society organizations.

The signing ceremony of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Rwanda took place today at the headquarters of the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations in New York. HE Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, signed on behalf of the State of Qatar, while Ambassador Valentine Rugwabiza,, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Rwanda to the United Nations, signed on behalf of her country.

The State of Qatar reiterated its commitment to providing the humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people, whether unilaterally, bilaterally or multilaterally through the United Nations. This came in a speech delivered by Qatar's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, HE Ambassador Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, during an a session of informal consultations called by the European Union Delegation to the United Nations to follow up the results of the Brussels Conference "Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region." The humanitarian aid provided so far by the State of Qatar amounted to US $ 1.6 billion, she said. The State of Qatar pledged to provide a new contribution of US $ 100 million to address the humanitarian situation of the Syrian people in 2017

The State of Qatar affirmed that it will not hesitate to support any resumption of serious negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, which would lead to peace on clear bases and a timetable for the two sides to live side by side in peace and security according to the two-State solution and the establishment of the Palestinian State based upon 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. This came in a statement of the State of Qatar delivered by HE the Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations Ambassador Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani before the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Situation in the Middle East and the ‘Palestinian Question." The State of Qatar has spared no effort to achieve peace and stability in the region and will continue its policy and cooperation with the international parties in this regard, recognizing the dangers of the conflict in the Middle East within its conviction that peace needs all political and humanitarian efforts, the Ambassador said.

Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations held a briefing at the United Nations Headquarters in New York with Dr Simon Adams, Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect on the implementation of the principle of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) ahead of the upcoming 7th Meeting of the National R2P Focal Points due in Doha on 24-25 April, 2017. Qatar's Permanent Representative to the United National, HE Ambassador Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, briefed the participants on the upcoming meeting's agenda, which will discuss "Syria and Protection from Mass Crimes".

The State of Qatar opened the 50th session of the UN Commission on Population and Development under the theme "Changing Population Age Structures and Sustainable Development" at the UN headquarters in New York. Opening the session, HE Qatar's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani, who chairs of the United Nations on Population and Development, stressed the importance of the current session of the Population and Development Commission in providing an excellent opportunity for Member States and stakeholders to exchange views and reach agreement on population issues that are fundamental to the identification and implementation of the post-2017 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The State of Qatar stressed its important role in supporting the international efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change as it has initiated the establishment of the Global Drylands Alliance, which seeks to combat desertification and drought and conserve environment and thus contribute to the efforts of the Paris Agreement. It also stressed that combating climate change is a prerequisite for maximizing progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development . This came in a speech delivered by Qatar's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, HE Ambassador Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, before the High-level Meeting on "Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Agenda."

The State of Qatar stressed today the importance of enhancing the role of the United Nations General Assembly in terms of mediation. This came in Qatar's statement in a meeting at the UN headquarters on the role of the UN General Assembly. The statement was read by HE Qatar's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Sheikha Aliaa Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani. HE the Ambassador said that the subject of enhancing the role of the UN General Assembly gained the attention of the member countries.