*Remembering Saleh bin Afsan al-Kuwari, Editor-in-Chief of Arrayah

The Editor-in-Chief of the local Arabic daily Arrayah, Saleh bin Afsan al-Kuwari, passed away in London on Tuesday while undergoing treatment in the UK capital. He was 57. Arrayah is a sister publication of Gulf Times.
Al-Kuwari, who was also chairman of Qatar Press Centre, assumed the post of Arrayah's Editor-in-Chief on September, 6, 2008. He succeeded in consolidating Arrayah's position as a pioneering and leading newspaper and a platform to express the issues that concern the people and national causes. He also exerted great efforts in making the paper a hub for training new journalists and writers. 
After graduating from Qatar University, al-Kuwari started his professional career as an editor at Qatar News Agency (QNA) in 1985. On the basis of his skills and devotion, he was subsequently promoted as local news editor and head of the local news department before becoming the deputy managing editor of QNA. Throughout his career at QNA, he undertook various reporting tasks and headed QNA teams at various international, Arab, GCC and local assignments. 
In December 2017, Qatar Press Centre was established and Al-Kuwari was elected as its first chairman. 
He strived to make Arrayah a newspaper for all Qatar and also he wanted to make it a leading daily at the Arab and international levels. 
Al-Kuwari published a large number of articles in Arrayah, tackling the key issues facing the nation and the people. He defended Qatar against the false propaganda unleashed by individuals and organisations in some countries.
He played a great role in promoting the stand of Qatar and its position since the start of the unjust blockade , which was imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt on June 5, 2017. He wrote an article titled "We trust our leadership, we shall not be intimidated by the withdrawal of ambassadors, the closure of borders and airspace". Eventually, he wrote a series of articles dealing with the development of the events while stressing the independence, sovereignty and endurance of Qatar as a nation united behind its wise leadership. The first part of these articles was compiled as a book titled "Qatar Stronger Than the Blockade", which was launched on July 2, 2018.