(MENAFN- The Peninsula) QNA
Washington: US State Department said yesterday that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Qatar and the United States on curbing financing of terrorism set a good example for other countries. The US State Department expressed hope that the other countries will also attach importance to the issue.
State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters that the MoU was separate from negotiations over the Gulf Crisis, but she held out the possibility that the nations sieging Qatar could also be asked to sign a similar agreement. Nauert added that the State Department "certainly hopes" that the agreement could help lead to an end of the siege of Qatar led by Saudi Arabia. Negotiations on the anti-terrorism financing agreement began when US President Donald Trump visited Riyadh in May, Nauert said, so it "predated the beginning of the crisis."
"I think to highlight this agreement sends a really big message to all the nations involved that terror financing is a major issue and a major concern," she said. Pressed by reporters on whether Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt would also be asked to sign a similar agreement, Nauert said, "I'm not certain if this memorandum is going to be extended to the other nations or could potentially be, but I don't want to get ahead of the secretary. I suppose there could be separate memorandums that come from these conversations."
The State of Qatar and the United States announced on Tuesday the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on combating terrorism financing. At a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that the State of Qatar, which was accused of financing terrorism, has become the first country to sign with the US a similar agreement aiming to combat terrorism financing.
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