Qatar to see bigger spending in next fiscal

DOHA: H E Ali Shareef Al Emadi, Minister of Finance, announced yesterday that the national budget 2019 will see increase in budgetary allocations for capital expenditure and spending in several key sectors, including infrastructure and social sectors.

The Minister of Finance, speaking at a panel discussion with other ministers and dignitaries on the opening day of the first International Products Exhibition and Conference (IPEC Qatar), noted that the moderate rise in the prices of oil & gas has further strengthened Qatar’s position, especially in terms of the international balance.

Powered by more trade surplus and improved balance of payment position, the government will further expand its developmental activities and continue implementing infrastructure projects in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030. The Minister stressed the continued focus of the budget on capital expenditure, explaining that spending in general, especially in the health, education and infrastructure projects, will see a rise, and revenues will also see a recovery in 2019.

The national budget for 2018 was prepared at an assumed oil price of $45 per barrel, while prices of oil now hover around $80 a barrel. Al Emadi said that the growth in Qatar is largely driven by the performance of the private sector, where the growth rate in this sector reached more than 4 percent, which exceeded the official expectations, adding that it is expected to continue.

The Minister of Finance pointed out that Qatar is working on the development of legislation to stimulate investment, and has signed trade exchange agreements with more than 100 countries, and other agreements to prevent double taxation with more than 70 countries.

He also noted that Qatar occupies advanced positions in many international classifications that reflect the advantages of the investment climate in Qatar such as the competitiveness index, freedom of business and ease of entry into the country.

The high-profile event, which was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani at DECC yesterday, will conclude on October 10. The coveted three-day expo features over 360 exhibitors from Qatar and about a dozen other countries, including Turkey, Oman, Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Tajikistan.

The other panelists who participated at the ‘Cooperation Panel Discussion: Leading to Sustainable Economic growth with Qatari Partners’, included H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce and his counterparts from Turkey and Tunisia.

The Minister of Economy and Commerce said that the conference is going to be very helpful for the private sector to expand trade and economic cooperation with the participating countries.

Sheikh Ahmed noted that Qatari economy is witnessing the fastest growth in the region. Referring IMF reports, he said that Qatar’s GDP is expected to grow by 2.8 percent in 2018 and 3 percent next year.

The Minister also noted that Qatar is boosting trade and economic cooperation with a number of leading trade partners, which will provide a market access of over 400 million people to the Qatari companies.