Assistant Undersecretary for Public Services Affairs Eng. Abdullah Ahmed Al Karani stressed that the State of Qatar is a role model at the international and regional levels in adopting policies and strategies aimed at maintaining public cleanliness. In a speech on the occasion of World Cleanup Day, which is marked on the third Saturday of September every year, Al Karani pointed out that the Public Services Affairs Sector is keen to provide the finest public cleanliness services throughout the country, in accordance with the highest international standards and requirements. In the framework of the Ministry's interest in public cleanliness and waste recycling, Eng. Abdullah Ahmed Al Karani indicated the state's keenness to issue, activate and implement a number of legislations, strategic projects and digital transformation projects, as well as national initiatives that contribute to achieving the Ministry's goals in this field, especially with regard to waste collection and proper and safe disposal of waste i n accordance with the highest international standards. He added that this is evident through the issuance of legislation and laws aimed at developing cleaning work in cities and all vital areas. Law No. 6 of 2023 amending some provisions of the Cleanliness Law No. 18 of 2017 also contributed to developing public cleanliness legislation and procedures, within the framework of the State of Qatar's efforts to preserve the environment and its safety and achieve sustainable development. The integrated national program for sorting waste at source, which was launched within the framework of achieving the goals of the Ministry's sustainable strategic plan, has also been activated. The General Cleaning Department, within this program, distributes a number of source sorting containers to residential areas periodically through a planned schedule targeting all residential areas and neighborhoods in the country. The Assistant Undersecretary added that within the framework of enhancing the waste sorting program at the s ource, the Smart Waste Management System application was launched in June, by HE Minister of Municipality Abdullah bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al Attiya, which is one of the largest smart city and digital transformation projects in the Ministry of Municipality. It is also considered a smart simulation for implementing traditional processes followed in waste management and collection. As for national initiatives, the "Zero Waste" initiative was launched on the sidelines of the Waste Management Conference and Exhibition 2022, with the aim of achieving an advanced level of public awareness of the importance of waste as part of resource sustainability. In turn, Director of the General Cleaning Department at the Ministry of Municipality, Muqbel Madhour Al Shammari, said that the State of Qatar has given the general cleanliness sector great care and attention, which is represented in considering it a basic pillar of the third national development strategy, which is the final stage towards Qatar National Vision 2030. H e noted that the General Cleaning Department is about to implement a comprehensive campaign to clean all the country's beaches during the coming week to celebrate this occasion, within the framework of preserving the civilized and aesthetic appearance of the beaches and islands. Field teams equipped with the latest equipment will be distributed throughout the week to cover the most important areas of beaches and islands across the country. Al Shammari explained that the General Cleaning Department is keen to provide the requirements and capabilities of mechanisms, equipment and workers with high efficiency to provide public cleaning services with a high degree of efficiency and quality, and this was evident on many occasions, most notably the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which was an example to be followed in the arrangement, organization and cleanliness of Qatari cities, thanks to the care of the state and those in charge of the public services sector in the ministry. He added that this global occasion will be cel ebrated by the General Cleaning Department, organizing a number of diverse awareness events by allocating a pavilion for the Ministry in the Mall of Qatar to raise awareness of World Cleanup Day, as well as holding lectures for the public, workshops, competitions, games and entertainment shows for children, in coordination and cooperation with the private sector and related entities within the context of enhancing community participation, considering public cleanliness a shared responsibility among all segments of society Source: Qatar News Agency