Overview: The United States continued to seek improved counterterrorism cooperation and information sharing with the Qatari government. Cooperation with U.S. authorities on counterterrorist finance continued to develop and in April, Qatar passed strong anti-money laundering/counterterrorist finance (AML/CTF) legislation. Still, Qatari efforts to counter terrorist financing outside its borders by private individuals and charitable associations often fell short of recognized international standards. Qatar's leaders maintained political relations with top-ranking Hamas and Hizballah leaders.

Legislation and Law Enforcement: Through a stringent visa and sponsorship regime, Qatar regularly refused entry to and deported foreign residents suspected of extremist sympathies, and monitored extremism in its citizen population. Qatari authorities have indicated that they will increase biometric features on resident ID cards in the near future.

Countering Terrorist Finance: Qatar is a member of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) and undertook comprehensive MENAFATF assessments of its banking/financial sector and regulatory and enforcement framework in 2010. New AML/CTF legislation purported to meet international legal norms, but no prosecutions for terrorist financing occurred under the new law. Qatar made significant progress on building a financial regulatory framework but did not adequately enforce its laws and international standards to track funds transfers to individuals and organizations (including charities) associated with extremists and terrorist facilitators outside Qatar. Qatar has an increasingly capable Financial Information Unit (FIU) in its Central Bank. Local banks worked with the Central Bank and the FIU on CTF and AML issues.

Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism: Government authorities were recognized as regional leaders in improving educational standards and curricula, which included civic instruction that criticized violent extremist views. Qatar hosted well-regarded international fora on interreligious dialogue.

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