Abu Dhabi, September 12 (QNA) – The State of Qatar took part in the second Conference of Heads of Supreme Administrative Courts in Arab Countries held in Abu Dhabi. HE Masoud Mohamed Al-Amri, President of the Cassation Court and chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) led Qatar’s delegation to the Conference.
He has presided over a workshop on the sovereignty acts and administrative justice, during which he stressed the importance of enhancing the constructive cooperation between the judicial authorities in the Arab countries.   (QNA)

Riyadh, September 12 (QNA) – Qatar participated in the second meeting of the GCC Electronic Media Committee, which was held today at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh in the presence of the member states.
 The meeting discussed the recommendations the first meeting of the Committee held on October 3, 2010 and took the appropriate related decisions.  The meeting also reviewed the report of the Secretariat on media strategy from 2010 to 2020, which was approved by the 31st session of the Supreme Council and distributed to all member states.
Finally,  the meeting  approved a set of  recommendations aimed  at raising  awareness about electronic media, boosting GCC presence on the Internet  and  encouraging  traditional media to acquire new technologies.
Qatar was represented  in the meeting by Eng.  Khalid Mohammed Al Mutawa, Director of  the Technical Affairs Department at Qatar News Agency.(QNA)

Doha, September 12 (QNA) – HH the Deputy Emir and Heir Apparent  Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani telephoned  today Somalia’s new president Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud. During the call, HH the Deputy Emir and Heir Apparent congratulated Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud on his election as President of the republic of Somalia. Discussions during the call also reviewed the fraternal relations between the two countries and ways of boosting them in various fields, as well as a number of issues of common interest.(QNA)

Doha, September 12 (QNA) – The State of Qatar on Wednesday strongly condemned the attack on the U.S. Consulate in the Libyan City of Benghazi, which came as a reaction over an American-made movie that depicted the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and killed the U.S. Ambassador and three members of the Consulate staff.
The State of Qatar rejects such acts whatever their form or origin, a Foreign Ministry official told Qatar News Agency (QNA).
The State of Qatar reaffirms its firm stance rejecting all acts that offends Islam, religions and other religious beliefs, he added.
The State of Qatar urges all parties to exercise restraint, resolve the matter peacefully through their vision and wisdom and avoid any form violence to express rejection of all offenses against beliefs and sanctities, said the source.
The State of Qatar offered condolences and sympathy to the United States government, the American people, and the families of the victims over the attack.  (QNA)

Doha, September 12 (QNA) – Qatar Airways has announced a long-term strategic partnership with leading Indian IT Company Wipro, designed to develop new technological solutions to create greater competitive advantage for the award-winning airline. This agreement will bring together Qatar Airways’ expertise in aviation systems and Wipro’s experience of application development and project management to develop a new suite of IT software.
The partnership was officially signed at the Doha headquarters of Qatar Airways by CEO Akbar Al Baker and Wipro chairman Azim Premji.
Al Baker said: “Qatar Airways always works closely with its partners to take service levels to new heights for the benefit of its valued customers. We are delighted to work with an industry leader that Wipro is, combining their technical expertise with a world-class airline that we are, looking to drive greater efficiency by employing the best technology around.
“Through this agreement, Wipro will work with us to build new aviation IT solutions to meet our business needs in a fast-moving environment to ultimately provide an overall enhanced customer experience and provide Qatar Airways with competitive edge in using the latest technology available.”  
Wipro said technology played a key role in driving greater efficiency – more improvements, enhanced customer service and faster decision-making. The solutions jointly developed within this partnership will enable Qatar Airways and its subsidiaries to pursue their aggressive growth strategies. The agreement will further enhance Wipro’s capabilities within the aviation sector, as well as increase Wipro’s commitment to the Qatar market.
Under the new arrangement, a lot of the software development will be carried out by Wipro in South India. Qatar Airways will be able to tap into Wipro’s vast pool of highly technical resources, as well as research and development centres to explore and take advantage of new technological solutions.(QNA)

Doha, September 12 (QNA) – Qatargas on Wednesday announced it will assist its Japanese customers by supplying over 20 million tons of LNG in the short term to help with the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Qatargas has increased its support for Japan by 11 million tons from the original nine million tons of short-term supplies announced last fall. These volumes are in addition to the several new long-term LNG supply agreements reached between Qatargas and its Japanese customers over the last 12 months. This is a substantial commitment to the energy security of Japan and is evidence of the strong relationship Qatargas enjoys with its Japanese stakeholders.
“Being the world’s largest LNG producer, we are demonstrating one of our fundamental marketing principles that Qatargas sells LNG to where it is needed the most. As of now, Qatargas has delivered LNG to 21 countries, with planned sales to several more in future. As we aspire to be the World’s Premier LNG Company, we seek to maintain the highest standards of safety, reliability and integrity whilst offering our customers the required flexibility to meet their operational requirements,” Khalid bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatargas Chief Executive Officer, said announcing the agreement.
 Qatargas has ongoing long-term commitments to deliver approximately 13 million tons per annum to term buyers in Japan and China. Established in 1984, Qatargas pioneered the LNG industry in Qatar. Today, the firm is the largest LNG producer in the world with a production capacity of 42 million tons per annum of LNG. (QNA)

Doha, September 12 (QNA) – Under the patronage of HE Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum (QP), the World GTL Congress will gather government officials and leading gas experts in Doha on 13-15 January 2013.
The congress is being organised with QP as the Host Organization, and Shell and ORYX GTL as the Host and Lead Sponsors, respectively.
The World GTL Congress will highlight Qatar’s drive to pioneer the continued development of the gas-to-liquids (GTL) industry for producing cleaner and more environmentally-friendly products. Qatar is not only the global GTL energy leader, but it is also home to the world’s largest commercial GTL plant.
The World GTL Congress will be the world’s first annual meeting for global GTL stakeholders, experts and leading names in the industry.
The congress will focus on strengthening international co-operation to enhance commercialisation of remote stranded gas through GTL technology and will explore the impact of GTL products on the economy of the host countries, the environment and climate change.
IQPC Middle East Project Director Asmae Hamidi said, “IQPC is honored to work with the industry’s foremost experts, QP, ORYX GTL and Shell and we look forward to see this annual meeting grow in parallel to the GTL industry.
“Thanks to new technology developments, the GTL industry is growing rapidly with new projects being established. However, gas-to-liquid has not been exploited to its full potential and the World GTL Congress is an opportunity to establish a global collaboration on this emerging technology to improve its commerciality and performance and to become one of the world’s main energy resources.”
Over the three-day conference and breakout workshops, leading industry experts will discuss and decide upon the most strategic issues regarding GTL’s legal and financial framework as well as develop policies that will drive the development of the industry.
The congress will also feature a world-class exhibition of international GTL visionaries including IOC s, NOC s, technology providers, EPC contractors and consultants who will showcase technological innovations, provide solutions to the global GTL industry and offer advice and updates on industry developments.  (QNA)

Doha, September 12 (QNA) – HE Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman & Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum (QP) has recently met with South African Minister of Energy, Dipuo Peters, and Chief Executive Officer of Sasol, David Constable during a visit that started from the 9th-11th of September. During the visit, HE chaired the quarterly board meeting of ORYX GTL, one of the largest commercial gas-to-liquids (GTL) operations in the world, QP said in a press statement issued today.
The two sides also held further discussions to canvas ways of further capitalizing on the success of Sasol’s GTL technology and its implementation in Qatar.
HE Al Sada hailed the role of ORYX GTL in placing Qatar as the GTL capital in the world.
” We are pleased to have Sasol as a partner and look forward to our ongoing journey together, as ORYX GTL continues its success,” he said.
For his part, Constable said “Under the vision of HH the Emir of the State of Qatar, the development of ORYX GTL has been a game-changer in the global energy sector. This groundbreaking venture shows how, with strong government support, abundant natural gas resources, and innovative technologies, we can work together to deliver world-class products to benefit millions of customers. Sasol looks forward to an exciting future ahead with its partner, Qatar Petroleum, in advancing further opportunities.”
HE Al-Sada also visited Sasol Secunda facilities, where Sasol showcased its proprietary technology. With a capacity of 160,000 bbpd, the Secunda facility in South Africa is Sasol s largest operation and spans 13 square kilometers.
He also visited Sasol Research Facilities at Sasolburg and was shown a demonstration of Sasol s state-of-the-art technologies, which included coal and gas processing, and chemical technologies, amongst others.
ORYX GTL is a joint venture between Sasol and Qatar Petroleum. The ORYX GTL plant is Sasol s flagship world-scale GTL facility that uses Sasol proprietary GTL technology to convert natural gas into high-value product streams, including liquid fuels, chemicals and lower-carbon electricity.  (QNA)