Doha, Qatar: The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs, HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al-Thani chaired the Cabinet's regular meeting held on Wednesday morning at the Amiri Diwan.
Following the meeting, Minister of Justice and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, HE Ibrahim bin Ali Al Mohannadi stated the following:
At the outset of the meeting, the Cabinet commended the outcomes of the talk sessions held between the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Prime Minister of Canada, HE Dr. Mark Carney, on January 18, during His Excellency's state visit to the State of Qatar.
The Cabinet stressed that the joint statement issued at the conclusion of the visit reflected the depth and strength of the relations between the two friendly countries, as well as their partnership based on trust, mutual respect, and a shared aspiration to strengthen and develop their bilateral cooperation for the benefit of their peoples, and for the sake of peace and stability, at the regional and international levels.
The Cabinet reviewed the items listed on its agenda, as it approved a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. 4 of 2008 regarding real estate leases, and referred it to the Shura Council. The draft law, prepared by the Ministry of Municipality, aims to strengthen efforts to combat the phenomenon of illegal subdivisions in real estate units, avoid the negative effects resulting from the non-registration of lease contracts, and reduce the amount of fees imposed on registration.
The Cabinet also approved two draft decisions of the Minister of Justice regarding the conditions and rules for registering and deregistering arbitrators and determining fees, as well as determining the conditions and rules for licensing the establishment of arbitration centers and branches of foreign arbitration centers.
The preparation of the two drafts comes in line with the Ministry of Justice's strategy aimed at developing the justice system and encouraging alternative methods of dispute resolution and enhancing their efficiency, by supporting the arbitration profession and facilitating its procedures, in a way that supports achieving prompt justice, improving the quality of judicial services, and consolidating the country's position as an advanced regional and international center in this field.
The Cabinet also decided to approve a draft Free Trade Agreement between the governments of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the government of New Zealand.
The Cabinet concluded its meeting by reviewing five reports and taking the appropriate measures in their regard. The documents included two reports of Qatar Financial Markets Authority's Grievance Committee on the grievances that the Committee considered during the period from 7/1 to 31/12/2024, and from 1/1 to 30/6/2025, a report on the outcomes of HE Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs to the Republic of Rwanda (December 2025), a report on the outcomes of participation in the High-Level Meeting to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women (New York - September 2025), and a report on the outcomes of participation in 72nd session of the World Health Organization's Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean (Cairo - October 2025)
