Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has signed a framework co-operation agreement with The HALO Trust, a UK-based humanitarian NGO, to establish bilateral partnership and open up opportunities for co-operation on humanitarian and development initiatives for the benefit of communities affected by wars and crises.
The agreement was signed by Assistant Secretary-General for Communication and Fundraising at QRCS, Mohamed Ahmed al-Beshri on behalf of QRCS Secretary-General, and CEO of The HALO Trust, James M Cowan.
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 formalised bilateral co-operation, 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 co-ordination during emergencies, and promote humanitarian awareness and advocacy," said al-Beshri.
"To ensure the success of this agreement, we look forward to further understandings between the two organisations, given the open-door strategy of Qatar Red Crescent to build potential partnerships towards the desired humanitarian goals. The diverse expertise and specialisations of the two parties will help enrich their partnership and maximise 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," he added.
James M Cowan stated, "Sadly, we live in a world in which many countries are affected by war, and it is our duty as a humanitarian organisation 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 the partnership includes exchange of expertise and operational support; mobilisation 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; and co-ordination 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.
