Doha/(QNA)/03 March 2009/ The Joint Higher Committee commended its third meeting at the Emiri Diwan premises here on Tuesday morning between Qatar, under the chairmanship of H.H. the Deputy Emir and Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Singapore, under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng.
The meeting was attended on the Qatari side by Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani, Minister of State for the Interior Affairs H.E. Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Minister of Economy and Finance H.E. Yousuf Hussain Kamal, Minister of Education and Higher Education H.E. Sheikha Ahmed al-Mahmoud, Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning H.E. Sheikh Abdurrahman bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, Minister of Business and trade H.E. Sheikh Fahd bin Jassem bin Mohamed Al Abdurrahman Al-Thani, Chief of the State's Security Department H.E. Mohamed bin Ahmed al Missned, Director of H.H. the Heir Apparent's Office H.E. Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, Director of Public Health Department H.E. Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Undersecretary of Labour Ministry H.E. Hussain Yousuf al Mulla, Acting Director of H.E. the Prime Minister's Office H.E. Abdullah bin Eid Al Suleiti, Director of the Asian and African Affairs Department at the Foreign Ministry Ambassador Abdulrahman Mohammed Al Kholeifi and chairman of the Urban Planning authority Ali Abdullah al- Abdullah.
While attending the meeting on the Singaporean side were Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Minister of State for Financial affairs and Transport Lim Hwee Hua, Minister of State for Educational affairs, Information, Communications and Arts Lui elu al-thaniya, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan, Charge d'Affaires at the Singaporean embassy in Doha Singh Bhatia, Permanent Secretary at the Health Ministry Yong Li Ying, Permanent Secretary at the Manpower Ministry Tan Tee How and Director of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia department at the Foreign Ministry Tan Hung Seng.
During the meeting, the two sides reviewed relations of cooperation between the two countries and ways of developing and promoting them in all domains, especially the economic and trade fields.
A number of regional and international issues of common concern were also discussed during the meeting. After the meeting, H.H. the Deputy Emir and Heir Apparent and H.E. Deputy Prime Minister along with Singaporean Minister for Interior Affairs witnessed the signing ceremony of three memorandums of understanding between the governments of Qatar and Singapore and the minutes of the third meeting of the Joint Committee.
The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on health cooperation, a second MOU on labor cooperation and a third one on enhancing cooperation in the field of using lands.
The memos of understanding were signed on the Qatari side by Director of Public Health Department H.E. Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Undersecretary of Labor Ministry H.E. Hussain Yousuf al Mulla, and chairman of the Urban Planning authority Ali Abdullah al- Abdullah.
While they were signed on the Singaporean side by health undersecretary ms. Yong
Weng I, the labor undersecretary Liu Yeeb and undersecretary of national development Tan Ti Haw.
Whereas the joint minutes of the third meeting was signed for Qatar by Director of the Asian and African Affairs Department at the Foreign Ministry Ambassador Abdulrahman Mohammed Al Kholeifi and for Singapore by Director of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia department at the Foreign Ministry Tan Hung Seng who is also head of the Singaporean experts'' panel.
H.H. the Deputy Emir and Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng held a meeting prior to the joint meeting in the presence of H.E. the Prime Minister and foreign minister and a number of their Excellencies the ministers.
H.H. the Deputy Emir and Heir Apparent later hosted a luncheon banquet in honor of H.E. the Singaporean distinguished guest and the accompanying delegation.