The Diplomat
The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, signed a security action plan on Wednesday, December 10, with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. This plan will serve as a framework for increasing police cooperation between the two countries.
According to the Minister, following his meeting with his counterpart in Doha—the first visit by a Spanish Minister of the Interior to Qatar—the plan continues the work begun in 2011 with the signing of the security cooperation agreement between Spain and Qatar.
The text, as reported by the Ministry in a press release, establishes six priority lines of action: exchange of information on crimes; combating terrorism, money laundering, organized crime, and counterfeiting; combating drug trafficking and cybercrime; security of ports, airports, coasts, and border crossings; training, knowledge sharing, and capacity building; and technical cooperation.
Grande-Marlaska described Qatar as a “key player” in diplomacy and conflict resolution in its regional sphere of influence and highlighted the “important role” it has played in mediating the dialogues between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza conflict. “Qatar’s knowledge and experience in this area contribute to our assessments of the state of security and the threat of terrorism and radicalization,” he stated.
Both ministers recalled the police cooperation undertaken in 2022 for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and pledged to strengthen operational exchanges and collaboration in organizing major sporting events, such as the Formula 1 races, which Doha already hosts and which will come to Madrid in 2026.