The three-day bilateral Qatar-US hostage recovery exercise, organized under the auspices of HE Minister of Interior and Commander of Lekhwiya Force Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani concluded in Doha on Tuesday.
The exercise, organized by the Qatar International Academy for Security Studies (QIASS) at the officers' club in the Internal Security Force camp (Lekhwiya), saw the participation of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Security Agency, and the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) from the Qatari side.
From the US side, the exercise saw the participation of representatives of the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the US Embassy in Qatar.
This exercise, held for the first time outside the United States, comes within the cooperation agreements between the two countries in the fields of training and planning on all tasks related to dealing with crises and combating terrorism, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
Inspector General of the Lekhwiya force Brigadier General Hamad Hassan Al Sulaiti said that the exercise had many positive indicators, as it confirmed the state of cooperation and coordination between the US security agencies and their Qatari counterparts in all issues related to national security, stressing the importance of cooperation between the two countries and praising the role of the US Embassy in organizing the exercise.
For his part, HE Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs of the United States of America Roger Carstens valued Qatar's efforts to make this exercise successful, saying that this reflects the importance of strategic cooperation and joint work between the two countries in the security field.
He added that these workshops and regular meetings are of great importance for exchanging and sharing expertise and successful experiences in the field of combating terrorism and rescuing hostages while highlighting the correct mechanism for dealing with such issues.
For his part, HE Ambassador of the United States of America to the State of Qatar Timmy Davis that they are pleased that Qatar was chosen to be the first country to host this exercise in appreciation of its pioneering role and positive participation in addressing hostage issues in the Middle East and Africa.
He pointed out that this cooperation represents the first step in a series of multilateral partnerships in this field, which they aspire to support Qatar's endeavors to host the 2032 Olympic Games.
The exercise discussed the various hostage recovery operations, including methods and tactics of negotiating with the kidnappers, how to communicate with the media during these events, as well as learning about the latest techniques and technology used in the field of combating terrorism, methods and mechanisms of military intervention during hostage recovery operations, and the latest methods used in their recovery.
The exercise activities concluded with a graduation ceremony, during which certificates were distributed to the participants from Qatar and the US, who considered this exercise an ideal way to prepare the agencies and partners to work with each other whenever needed.
