Sheikh Tamim urged the international community to bring an end to Israel’s aggressive assaults on Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
During the third edition of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Summit, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani took the opportunity to highlight Israel’s deadly operations in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
“The world is still witnessing a dangerous escalation of the war waged by the Israeli occupation authorities against our Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories,” Sheikh Tamim said in his opening speech.
“It has become crystal clear that what is happening is a genocide, in addition to transforming the Gaza Strip into an area unfit for human habitation in preparation for forced displacement,” he added, mentioning the more than 41,000 Palestinian men, women and children killed since October 7.
“Security will not be achieved without achieving just, rightful peace, and this cannot be achieved in our region except with the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Sheikh Tamim said.
Sheikh Tamim also renewed his country’s rejection and condemnation of the air strikes and escalating Israeli military operations on Lebanon that has “claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians and displaced over one million citizens”.
“We have previously warned of the consequences of not holding Israel accountable as it commits crimes against humanity and refuses to implement international resolutions to end the occupation,” Qatar’s amir said.
He went on to call for serious efforts to implement a ceasefire, and to stop the Israeli aggression on Lebanese territory.
Third Asia Cooperation Summit in Doha
Held on Thursday at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Doha, the summit themed “Sports Diplomacy” brought together 35 world leaders to discuss cooperation on various economic and cultural initiatives across the continent.
Sheikh Tamim emphasized the vital role of sports in promoting individual and societal health, fostering peace, and spreading values of tolerance and mutual respect, all of which align with the vision of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue 2030.
The summit saw the participation from numerous country delegations and senior officials, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was also present, after his country held the chairmanship of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) since October 2023.
The ACD was inaugurated in 2002 in Thailand, forming a continent-wide platform for dialogue and cooperation, the first of its kind in Asia. Qatar is among the founding members of ACD, which encourages “Asian unity”.
The first ACD summit took place in Kuwait in 2012 and the second took place in Thailand in 2016.
