1 week Ago By Qatar Tribune
Qatar tribune Tribune News Network Doha The Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has signed a framework cooperation agreement with The HALO Trust, a UK-based humanitarian NGO operating in more than 30 countries. The agreement aims to establish a bilateral partnership and create opportunities for collaboration on humanitarian and development initiatives to support communities affected by wars and crises. The agreement was signed by Mohamed Ahmed Al-Beshri, assistant secretary-general for communication and fundraising at QRCS, on behalf of Faisal Mohamed Al-Emadi, secretary-general of QRCS, and Major General (Ret’d) James M Cowan, CEO of The HALO Trust.
The signing ceremony was attended by Yousef bin Ali Al-Khater, president of QRCS, Eng. Ibrahim Hashim Al-Sada, vice-president, Ramadan Al-Mousel, advisor to the president, Hussein Aman Al-Ali, assistant secretary-general for volunteering and local development, Ahmed Mohamed Al-Yafey, acting director of media and marketing, and Yousef Mohamed Al-Awadhi, chief QRCS ambassador. The HALO Trust’s delegation comprised Andrew Moore, regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Afghanistan, and Florence Branchu, head of partnerships in the Middle East.
During a pre-event meeting between Al-Khater and the visiting delegation, they discussed shared areas of work, the humanitarian conditions in conflict-affected regions, and their shared vision for saving lives, transforming communities, and promoting stability in areas such as Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Gaza, and others. In his remarks, Al-Beshri explained that the importance of this agreement is derived from the prestigious status of its two parties, as key players in the international humanitarian arena. “Inspired by the interest of both parties in formalized bilateral cooperation, this agreement would help improve access to basic humanitarian services at times of war and disasters, provide humanitarian care for victims of the explosive remnants of war, offer capacity-building activities for fellow humanitarian providers, enhance community resilience and sustainable development, step up coordination during emergencies, and promote humanitarian awareness and advocacy,” said Al-Beshri.
He added, “To ensure the success of this agreement, we look forward to further understandings between the two organizations, given the open-door strategy of Qatar Red Crescent to build potential partnerships towards the desired humanitarian goals. The diverse expertise and specializations of the two parties will help enrich their partnership and maximize the humanitarian benefits for the host communities, building on the strong strategic relations between the State of Qatar and the United Kingdom across the board.” Maj.
Gen. Cowan stated, “Sadly, we live in a world in which many countries are affected by war, and it is our duty as a humanitarian organization to tackle the consequences by working to remove landmines. We are technically very proficient, and we believe in the power of partnership with QRCS.
All of this work, which we do up to high technical standards, cannot happen unless we marry that technical skill with the cultural and local knowledge that you have of your region. And without you, we could do nothing for the millions of women, children, and men who are suffering from war in the world.” The scope of partnership includes the following activities: Exchange of expertise and operational support; mobilization of funding for agreed-upon projects, provision of technical and programmatic support for humanitarian and development-oriented initiatives, management of the removal of landlines and explosive remnants of war, coordination with UN agencies and international partners, development of joint project proposals and work plans, leadership of training and capacity-building initiatives, facilitation of logistics, monitoring and evaluation of activities, and ensuring transparency and accountability.
Copy 28/04/2025 10.
