Qatar has successfully entered the third year of unjust siege imposed on the nation by some countries, which are contrary to all international conventions, laws and norms.
Those countries tried their level best to succumb the enthusiasm of this nation and its people with all kinds of unjust tactics. Instead, Qatar made all adversities into successes and amid all those hurdles, Qatar managed to climb greater heights during the last two years in all spheres. The country has attained self-sufficiency in several sectors. Its infrastructure work continued without any hindrance.
Qatar has earned several international appreciations from many quarters for the way it handled the blockade and several international agencies and think tanks around the world praised efforts of the leadership of Qatar in the economic field.
The recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the latest testimony of how Qatar’s plans are paying off. Qatar’s economy has proved to be resilient in the face of an embargo by its neighbours and lower oil prices, the IMF said on Monday. “Economic performance improved in 2018. Qatar’s economy has successfully absorbed the shocks from the 2014-16 drop in hydrocarbon prices and the 2017 diplomatic rift,” the IMF said in a statement.
“Real GDP growth is estimated at 2.2 percent, up from 1.6 percent in 2017.”
The IMF, after concluding its latest Executive Board consultation with Qatar, noted the country’s banking sector remains healthy, reflecting high asset quality and strong capitalisation. At end-September 2018, banks had high capitalisation and maintained strong profitability, low non-performing loans, and a reasonable provisioning ratio of 83 percent. Banks are comfortably liquid, with a liquid-asset-to-total-asset ratio of 29.7 percent. Strong credit growth that outpaced deposits resulted in the system-wide loan-to-deposit ratio of 103 percent which is higher than the guidance of 100 percent.
The IMF has observed that the prudent fiscal policy, an appropriate monetary anchor, sound financial regulation and supervision frameworks and considerable buffers continue to underpin strong macroeconomic performance. Increased gas production, a slower pace of fiscal consolidation, infrastructure programs and adequate credit growth will underpin growth over the medium term.
The fixed exchange rate regime remains appropriate, as it has provided a clear and credible monetary anchor, although the external position is weaker than implied by fundamentals and desired policy settings. Fiscal consolidation over the medium term would help close the estimated current account gap. Lower than-envisaged hydrocarbon prices constitute the main risk to the macro-financial outlook. Nonetheless, Qatar is in a position to weather such a shock, given significant buffers and prudent policies, the IMF said.
This recognition from an international agency reiterates that country has weathered all storms with its well-planned and well-crafted policies and achieved greater acclaim for its efforts.
