(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Qatari economy in face of international crises calls for continued development of the Qatari private sector and diversifying the national economy to reach the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030, Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani said while inaugurating the Annual Macroeconomic Forum 2015, hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, here yesterday.
The Prime Minister said that the world is currently facing complex economic and political challenges, particularly in the Middle East. He acknowledged the great economic achievements Qatar made in recent and stressed that it requires further work to continue on the right developmental plan laid out by Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The Prime Minister also expressed his thanks to those who worked on organising the forum and their efforts in supporting the national economy's development.
Minister of Economy and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani stressed that macroeconomic analysis will provide a consistent view on the future of the Qatari economy, which enables better planning for it.
Speaking at the opening of Annual Macroeconomic Forum 2015, which saw the participation of Ministers and representative of public and private sector institutions, the Minister said that diversifying an economy requires a clear roadmap that understands the challenges of the future. He added that the ministry's latest initiative comes as part of the country's efforts to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030. The vision dictates a diversified economy where the private sector plays a strong role.
The Minister noted that the plan is to increase the participation of non-oil sector to the national GDP by 2030, which will decrease the effect global economic crises and changes to energy prices would have on the national economy.
The Minister also said that the analysis provides four possible directions that the Qatari economy could take in the next 15 years. He focused on of those scenarios, which he said was the best case scenario. In it, Qatar has a fully diversified economy living in a fast-growing global economy that has high energy prices.
The high energy prices would then reflect positively on the Qatar trade balance, which would allow bigger spending directed towards production activities. In that scenario, the Qatari economy would grow at an annual rate of 5.7 percent.
He added that such a scenario would be the best because local consumption would increase while inflation would remain at its lowest levels. Additionally, the state would have large financial reserves and an increasing rate of investment.
The Minister said that all four scenarios would see the oil sector contribute less to the GDP, but it was this scenario where the sector offered the least contribution.
The Minister of Developmental Panning and Statistics, H E Dr Saleh bin Mohamed Salem Al Nabit delivered a speech in which he stressed that education in Qatar is a fundamental pillar of the progress of society.
He said that Qatar National Vision 2030 is looking forward to the transition to a competitive diversified knowledge-based economy, in which the private sector participates greater.
He added that an inherently diverse economy is more stable, more able to develop jobs and opportunities for future generations and less vulnerable to fluctuations in oil and gas prices.
He explained that the government has liberalised laws and regulations affecting the banking, customs and trade, as well as laws and regulations governing foreign direct investment and foreign ownership. "Our future success in building a diversified economy, depends on our ability to deal with the competitive global knowledge-based environment," he said.
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