Qatar makes history, glory, spreads joy in world

The State of Qatar celebrated the anniversary of the National Day, which falls on December 18 of each year, under the slogan (Our unity is the source of our strength), which is an excerpt from a speech by the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. The National Day this year is unique as being coincide with final match of the first ever World Cup held in the Middle East and Arab and Muslim country.

The Amir patronized the opening of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at Al Bayt Stadium on the evening of the twentieth of last November and yesterday patronized  the closing ceremon and held a reception ceremony for Their Majesties, Highnesses, and Excellencies, leaders of brotherly and friendly countries, and heads of delegations participating in the closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, at Lusail Stadium this evening.

Qatar made great achievement as it has fulfilled the promises and silenced the critics and skeptics, after years of work and planning based on creativity and uniqueness in the various stages of preparations, and on the evening of the twentieth of last November. 

H H the Amir announced the opening of the tournament saying: “From Qatar, from an Arab country, I welcome everyone to the World Cup 2022. We have worked hard, along with many people, to make it one of the most successful tournaments. We have exerted all efforts and invested for the good of all humanity.

The comprehensive development of the country remains the supreme goal that the state is working to achieve, and it is proceeding steadily in fulfilling its requirements at all levels, in accordance with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and its desired goals.

During the current year, government agencies, bodies, institutions, and public companies were reorganized to increase their efficiency and compatibility with the requirements of the times, and to expand the use of electronic systems to ensure the efficiency of government performance and the implementation of development plans with the necessary efficiency and speed and facilitation for citizens in activities and services.

On the economic level, despite the slowdown in the global economy and the geopolitical atmosphere in the world, the Qatari economy continued to grow, which was positively reflected in all activities in the country.

Last Tuesday, the Ministry of Finance announced that Qatar’s budget for the third quarter of this year had achieved a surplus of QR 30 billion. The ministry stated that the total revenues for this quarter amounted to QR 81.8 billion, of which QR 76.3 billion were oil and gas revenues, while non-oil revenues were estimated at QR 5.5 billion.

The ministry’s data had revealed earlier that Qatar’s budget surplus in the first half of this year doubled several times to reach QR 47.3 billion, compared to a surplus of QR 4 billion during the same period of the year 2021. The figures of the state budget surplus for the third quarter reflect the level of promising prospects that the wise leadership has previously emphasized, to which HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani referred in his speech before the Shura Council in its current session. His Highness said that the budget surplus will be directed to reduce the level of public debt and increase the state’s financial reserves. 

In the health field, the State of Qatar is working to ensure the provision of the best level of health care and to provide preventive and curative health services, according to the highest standards, in a way that guarantees a healthy future for all residents, as the health sector in Qatar is moving confidently towards advanced global positions. Qatar has been included in the list of the best in the world in terms of the quality and accessibility of health services.

Last November HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani inaugurated Aisha Bint Hamad Al Attiyah Hospital of the Hamad Medical Corporation in the Tinbak area. The hospital is the second largest of the four hospitals affiliated with Hamad Medical Corporation, after Hamad General Hospital in terms of size and absorptive capacity, and the most modern in terms of medical equipment and devices.

The Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani inaugurated the HMC’s Al Maha Pediatric Specialized Care Center for Children, the new Al Khor Health and wellness Center and the Al Meshaf Health Center. This brings the number of health centers affiliated to the Primary Health Care Corporation to 30 health centers.

Education was and will remain a strategic choice for the State of Qatar that will never deviate from it, and the State is keen to invest in education in a way that enhances the building of its human capital, according to long-term visions and strategies sponsored by the wise leadership to develop the educational system and build modern Qatar with the arms of its sons armed with science, knowledge and ambition to achieve.

In addition to graduating new batches of students from Qatar University and Education City universities, HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani issued Amiri Decision No. 13 of 2022 to establish the Doha University of Science and Technology. Last June, HH the Amir honored the top outstanding male students in secondary school at the state level. Last March, H H the Amir patronized the Education Excellence Day Award ceremony in its fifteenth session, and His Highness honored the 72 winners of the award for this year.

To preserve the security of the homeland and the citizen, the Armed Forces with its various branches, the Ministry of Interior and its employees have been receiving the attention and patronage of H H the Amir and his wise government by providing them with the latest weaponry and participating in internal and external training with the forces of brotherly and friendly countries to keep the watchful eye on the security of the homeland and the citizens and the shield that defends its achievements, interests, menstruation and every atom of its soil. Last August, HH the Amir attended the arrival of the first batch of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft (Al-Dhariyat) of the Qatar Amiri Air Force at the Dukhan Airbase. Last September, HH the Amir attended the reception ceremony of the “Al Zubara” ship and the “Musherib” vessel of the Qatari Amiri Naval Forces at Umm Al Houl Naval Base. The Qatari Amiri Naval Forces celebrated the delivery of the ships of “Al Abrar” made by the Anadolu Shipyard company. This year, the new headquarters of Apache helicopters (QRA) was inaugurated at Al Udeid Air Base. The Qatari Amiri Naval Forces inaugurated the (Simaisma) - Corvette Type - in Milan in the Italian Republic. Last June, the Armed Forces celebrated the arrival of a training ship for the candidates “Al Shamal”, arriving from the Republic of Turkey to Doha, and it is one of the world’s largest training ships in the world.

In terms of clean energy that characterizes the State of Qatar, HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani patronized the summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, which was held under the title “Natural Gas: Shaping the Energy Future” at the Sheraton Doha Hotel. Last March, HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani inaugurated the Barzan gas project, which is the largest project after the Pearl GTL, which was launched in 2011 at a cost of USD 19 billion. It also adds a high-quality value in meeting Qatar’s gas needs.

Qatar Energy has completed the formation of eight international partnerships in the North Field East and North Field South expansion projects, which are expected to start production in 2026 and 2027, respectively. It is the largest project in the history of the LNG industry and will raise Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 to 126 million tons annually. 

Last October, HH the Amir patronized the opening ceremony of the Al Kharsaah solar power plant project, which provides the equivalent of 10% of the country’s electrical energy at peak time. QatarEnergy also announced a project to establish two solar power plants, to start producing electricity at the end of 2024. The two stations will be built in the industrial cities of Mesaieed and Ras Laffan.

QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions Company and Qatar Fertilizer Company (QAFCO) signed agreements to build the Ammonia 7 project, worth $1.1 billion. The project is the first and largest blue ammonia project in the world, and it will enter production in the first quarter of 2026.

QatarEnergy has also entered contracts to build, lease and operate 60 LNG carriers as part of its historic shipbuilding program to support the North Field East and North Field South expansion projects, with the number expected to increase to around 100 tankers in the future. QatarEnergy has expanded its operations in sixteen countries around the world, in partnership with a number of major international companies.

Our country has succeeded in confirming that its digital plans and strategies for the future were not just a slogan, but a tangible reality embodied in the partnership of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology with Microsoft, when it launched first hyperscale cloud datacenter region, it is the 55th region of Microsoft worldwide, joining the world’s largest cloud infrastructure, which enhances the State of Qatar’s competitiveness on a global and regional level, thus consolidating the country’s leading position in the digital transformation process.

In the context of growth and work for the present and the future, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani inaugurated last November, the new expansion project of Hamad International Airport (HIA), to help meet the growing passenger and freight needs, and the Hamad Port Visitor Center, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior also launched the Port Community System (PCS) “Mwanina”, which is an electronic platform that allows a smart and secure exchange of information between concerned persons and authorities related to the port and contributes to the improvement and development of import and development operations, making them more efficient and less costly.

“Qatar deserves the best from its children” is the slogan demanded by HH the Amir, Qatar proceeded to implement its projects and vision and strengthened its image as one of the best inspiring models that can be emulated in ambition and achievement.

The State of Qatar has topped the list of 20 Arab states in the assessment index on the quality of life of Arab citizen, which gauges the extent of economic welfare and lifestyle, as well as new parameters approved as part of other indices for the assessment the state safety in this years classification.

In view of the measures taken by the State to preserve the environment and improve the quality of life in cities, the State of Qatar has become the first country in the world to obtain all its cities accreditation from the World Health Organization as healthy cities.

The State of Qatar ranked 18th globally in the Competitiveness Index, among 64 countries, most of which are developed countries, according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook for 2022, which is issued annually by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland.

The themes in which the State of Qatar ranked high in the report included the economic performance axis, the governmental efficiency axis, and the business sector efficiency axis, topped the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region according to the Global Peace Index Report for 2022. Qatar ranked 23 globally among 163 countries included in the report in terms of the security situation, advancing by (6) places over the previous year as the safest and most secure.

The State of Qatar has occupied advanced positions internationally and regionally (for the Middle East and North Africa region) in the GovTech Maturity Index (GTEI) 2022 issued by the World Bank (WB) Group.

The State of Qatar ranked (A) in the group of highly developed countries with classification (A) and a maturity level of 87.4%. Qatar ranked 3rd regionally and 16th globally out of 198 participating countries. 

This year, the State of Qatar continued its humanitarian role, on the regional and international arenas, under the umbrella of the Red Crescent and its associate institutions in the charitable and humanitarian work sector in the State of Qatar by providing a helping hand to the needy and affected all over the world, Qatar provided financial, relief and medical assistance to countries, institutions and people suffering from natural disasters, crises, wars and ongoing conflicts, in all hot and afflicted spots on the planet.