Qatar’s economy is getting stronger and becoming more resilient against the blockade. This was reflected when Minister of Commerce and Industry H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari said that the State of Qatar has adopted a package of economic policies that have placed its economy at advanced rankings in different levels compared to the economies of countries around the world, as the country recorded the lowest rate of inflation in the world, with advanced levels of capital availability and reduced tax burdens.
He cited that the country’s economic growth as strong, mentioning the World Bank’s forecast that Qatar’s economy growing by 2.8 percent in 2018 and will see a growth of 3 percent and above by 2020, the highest of its kind in the region.
There are different factors behind the steady growth in the economy. Diversification is the key factor in the development. Though Qatar is mainly a natural gas abundant nation, the recent data shows that the country has really made a giant leap in the non-oil sector.
Al Kuwari stressed that the State of Qatar is working to make the non-oil sector essential to the growth of its economy, noting that the contribution of the non-oil sector in the country’s economy amounted to about 52 percent in 2017. The total value of Qatar’s non-oil exports in 2017 was QR18.1bn distributed to about 66 countries.
Qatar has succeeded in strengthening cooperation with various nations and built partnerships to launch innovative projects in several sectors.
To achieve the economic prosperity, the country has successfully established trade alliances and set up direct shipping lines with various corners of the world. The recent data showed that Qatar registered a steady increase in the trade surplus during the siege period. The leadership of the country has always mentioned that international trade and judicious investment plans represent main components of Qatar’s economic diversification policy.
Various diversification programmes resulted in the rise of the GDP during 2017 to reach about $220bn, compared with about $218bn in 2016, and in the real growth rate of GDP at constant prices touching 2% in 2017.
With the prudent policies and the wise leadership’s support to the private sector — which plays a key role in the economic processes anywhere in the world — Qatar’s economy poised to climb greater heights as one of the fastest growing in the region.
