Today, the Shura Council held its regular weekly session under the chairmanship of His Excellency Mr. Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud, Speaker of the Council, through video communication technology at the Council's headquarters.

At the beginning of the session, His Excellency the Speaker of the Shura Council, in his name and on behalf of the members of the Council, extended his warmest congratulations and blessings to His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of the country, 'may God protect him' on the occasion of the blessed month of Ramadan, asking God Almighty to return him to His Highness with good health, happiness, and happiness to our dear country and its loyal people and those residing on its land with more progress, prosperity and prosperity under the wise leadership of His Highness, and to lift our country, the Arab and Islamic nations and the whole world from the epidemic and affliction, for he is the best of the Lord and the best helper.

Then His Excellency briefed the Council on his meeting last Wednesday with His Excellency Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council of the sisterly Republic of Sudan, explaining that the conversation focused during the meeting on the solid bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries, adding that His Excellency valued the positions and the role of the State of Qatar in supporting The Sudanese people, especially their great and fruitful efforts for peace, development and reconstruction in Darfur, and that the meeting reflected the common desire to develop Qatari-Sudanese relations.

The Council continued its session, where it discussed a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. 5 of 2015 regarding similar commercial, industrial and public stores and street vendors. The Council approved the aforementioned draft law and decided to refer its recommendations regarding it to the esteemed government.

The Council also discussed the draft law establishing the Investment and Trade Court.

The draft law consists of 35 articles that include the formation of the Investment and Trade Court and its primary and appellate departments. The draft law also defines the jurisdiction of the court, including disputes related to commercial contracts, lawsuits arising between merchants and related to their business, disputes related to the investment of non-Qatari capital in economic activity, disputes related to the operations of banks, insurance companies, financing and investment companies, disputes related to bankruptcy, bankruptcy conciliation, disputes relating to patents, and protection of competition, preventing monopolistic practices, combating practices harmful to national products in international trade, disputes related to e-commerce and its transactions, and disputes related to partnership contracts between the public and private sectors. After discussion, the Council decided to refer the draft law to the Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee and submit a report on it to the Council.

At the conclusion of its session, the Council reviewed the supplementary report of the Public Services and Utilities Committee on a draft law regulating health care services within the country. After extensive discussion of the report, the Council decided to approve the draft law and to refer its recommendations to the esteemed government.

The draft law consists of 6 chapters comprising 47 articles, and provides for the provision of health care services to citizens in government health facilities free of charge.

Under the draft law, the Ministry of Public Health will set standards for the provision of health care services in government and private health facilities and mandatory health insurance, and provide an integrated health system with high quality that is efficient and sustainable, and work to develop and maintain mandatory health insurance.

According to the draft law, health insurance is mandatory to ensure the provision of basic health care services to expatriates and visitors to the country. An entry visa to an expatriate or visitor may not be issued or renewed, or a residence permit may be granted or renewed. Expatriates may not be employed except after providing proof of their participation in the compulsory health insurance for the duration of the stay.

The draft law provides for the provision of health care services to beneficiaries in emergency cases without requiring them to pay any amounts until the danger to them is removed even if the service provider is not within the network of health care service providers to the beneficiary, and provided that this does not prejudice the right of the health care service provider to refer to the insurance company, or the employer or the recruiter, as the case may be, to pay the cost of this service.

The draft law specifies the rights and duties of patients to be taken into account when receiving health care services, and the obligations of the parties to the insurance relationship and health care service providers, and defines penalties for violators of its provisions.