QNA/Doha

 

Foreign labourers in Qatar are treated with respect and enjoy stability and safety that is prevailing in the country, Abdulrahim Hasan Naqi, Secretary General of the Federation of GCC Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FGCC Chambers), has said.

Speaking to Qatari newspaper Al Arab,  Abdulrahim Hasan Naqi refuted all “wrong news” reported in the Western media about the violation of labourers’ rights in Qatar saying they were mere fabrication aimed at defaming not only Qatar but other GCC states also.  

Naqi said Qatar follows the best global standards when it comes to treatment of labourers, matching those applied in the USA and Europe.

“These allegations circulated in the Western newspapers about labourers in Qatar are just opening of files which have other goals, with a view to affecting Qatar and its hosting of the 2022 World Cup championship”, said Naqi.

He said the sponsorship system followed in Qatar and the other GCC states is not an arbitrary one, since several amendments have been introduced to the labour legislation over the past years to cope with the changes of the era and ensure the personal freedom of the sponsored.

The Secretary General of the FGCC Chambers stressed that the sponsorship system in force in Qatar and the GCC member-states is a legitimate one and does not violate the principles of human rights declaration and international law.

He said that the sponsorship system is similar to any procedure or system imposed by any country to ensure its sovereignty, identity, security and stability and the rights of its citizens and its language and its economy, and protect the future generations.

 “The Gulf states, without exception, are gaining international acclaim in maintaining the human rights of citizens and residents”, Naqi said noting that the indicators of freedom, democracy and protection of human rights available in these countries are much greater than in any other Arab country that does not operate according to the sponsorship system.

Replying to a question on the projects being implemented in Qatar and the Gulf states and how to use them in supporting the private sector and the national economy in those countries , Naqi said, “The most important sectors that will witness a big boom in the coming period in the GCC, and especially the State of Qatar is the infrastructure sector and contracting, which is expected to experience strong growth in the coming years thanks to the large-scale projects which will be witnessed by those countries.”

The Secretary General of the FGCC Chambers stressed that the events Qatar and the UAE will witness in the coming years, most notably the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar, as well as the Expo 2020 in the UAE, will give greater impetus to this sector.

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