Arab Forum on Asset Recovery Concludes

Doha, September 13 (QNA) - The Arab Forum on Asset Recovery concluded here on Thursday, affirming strong commitment to carry out the asset recovery action plan as part of the Deauville Partnership with Arab countries in transition. Arab Countries in Transition, including Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen; G-8 and other members of the Deauville Partnership along with a number of the relevant international and regional organizations took part in the three-day event. Addressing the closing session, Attorney General and UN Special Advocate for Stolen Asset Recovery, Dr. Ali bin Fetais Al-Marri reaffirmed Qatar's keenness to ensure justice in the world and its readiness to exert utmost efforts for recovering any assets stolen from any of the Arab Spring countries. In this context, Dr. Al-Marri quoted the address delivered during the opening of the forum by HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, which reiterated Qatar s readiness to support the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Centre on coordinating and following-up on the decisions of the Forum, as well as to fund its activities. Dr. Al-Marri further said that the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Centre will provide training courses for trainers in field of recovering stolen national assets in collaboration with the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR), which helps countries apply these tools and skills by facilitating contacts between jurisdictions in support of asset recovery cases. " We will work through the next few weeks to prepare a guide for the recovery of stolen funds, which will be available at the World Bank website," Dr. Al-Marri said. Participants in the Arab Forum on Asset Recovery, concluded Thursday in Doha under the chairmanship of HE the Attorney General Dr. Ali bin Fetais Al-Marri, underlined their commitment to the assets recovery action plan developed through a partnership with the Arab transition countries. The forum's final statement also stressed the necessity for the region and the international community to focus on the issue of recovering looted assets, calling for revising legislations and amending them, and international cooperation that includes technical assistance. The participants expressed their gratitude for the State of Qatar for hosting the event, noting that they look forward to carrying on "this significant work, which is a sign of the strong partnership among our countries, and also our support for the transition in the region." It was agreed that the forum is to reconvene next year. The forum's final statement pointed to participant countries' representatives, namely: Jordan, Spain, Germany, UAE, Italy, Bahrain, Belgium, Turkey, Tunisia, South Africa, Jersey, Guernsey, Russia, Switzerland, Iraq, Oman, France, Qatar, Canada, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lichtenstein, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Yemen and the European Union. (QNA)