The Cabinet has approved a draft law that lays down regulations for the establishment and operation of industrial zones in the country.
The matter has been referred to the Advisory Council for recommendations, the official Qatar News Agency said (QNA).
The decision was taken at the Cabinet’s weekly meeting on Wednesday.
The draft law defines industrial zones as “areas designated for industrial purposes in accordance with the provisions of this law, including land, installations and facilities erected thereon”, according to QNA.
Under the law, the establishment of industrial zones shall be decided by a decision of the Cabinet on the recommendation of HE the Minister of Energy and Industry in co-ordination with the authorities concerned in the State.
The land in industrial zones is considered the State’s property and is to be exploited as specified by the said law. All natural resources that appear or lie within the territories of the industrial zones shall be properties of the State, and that the tenant will be adequately compensated for the loss of full or partial use of such land, the report states. 
Also, no industrial establishment is to be founded in the industrial zones without authorisation from the relevant authorities in the State and after approval from the Ministry of Energy and Industry.
After HE the Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani chaired the Cabinet meeting at the Emiri Diwan on Wednesday, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud said the Cabinet also gave its nod to a draft decree on allocating land to the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) for the establishment of an electricity and water production plant. 
The meeting, meanwhile, also agreed on joining the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments for 2004.
Further, QNA reported that the Cabinet approved a draft air services agreement between the governments of Qatar and Indonesia. Additionally, it gave its nod to a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) on legal co-operation activities between the governments of Qatar and Malaysia.
Besides, the Cabinet approved a draft MoU for co-operation between the Legal and Judicial Studies Centre at the Ministry of Justice, Qatar, and Singapore Academy of Law, Singapore.
After that, the meeting reviewed a letter of HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce on the legal mechanism necessary for the Qatar Financial Markets Authority to apply provisions of the commercial companies law and the control of listed companies on Qatar Exchange, as well as a letter of the chairman of the Board of Directors of Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority on the annual report and audited accounts of the authority for 2016. The Cabinet then took the appropriate decisions thereon.
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