Qatar’s economy continues on the growth trajectory following the pandemic-induced decline in 2020. Preliminary data show that the GDP grew by 4.3 percent in first half of the year. The non-oil sector posted a growth rate of 7.3 percent in the first half, showing the success of the country’s efforts to diversify its economy.
Opening the Shura Council’s new session this week, Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke about the economy and his vision for further growth and diversification of the sources of state revenue. The Amir also chaired a meeting of the Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment yesterday, reviewing country’s economic priorities.
Qatar has also posted a budget surplus of about QAR47.3bn in the first half, helped by surge in energy prices. Amir said the budget surplus will be directed to reducing the level of public debt and increasing the state’s financial reserves.
Qatar’s economy has shown resilience even as countries around the world grapple with high inflation and rising costs of living. As the global economy was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict sent the energy prices skyrocketing and raised global food security concerns.
Qatar was proactive in taking steps to mitigate the effects of the pandemic slowdown on its people and economy and has also actively worked to shield masses from rising costs of living worldwide. Qatar has recorded inflation of 4.6 percent in the first half of the year, a relatively low figure compared to inflation in a number of developed countries.
Over the years the country has also worked to enhance its food security by increasing local production of food, diversifying its food import source, and massively increasing its strategic reserves and storage capacities.
The country has also embarked on a massive expansion of its North Field gas production site. The North Field Expansion Project is the industry’s largest ever LNG project. It will start production in 2026 and will add more than 48 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to the world’s LNG supplies by 2027. The project has high health, safety, and environmental standards, including carbon capture and sequestration.
As the country prepares to welcome over 1.2 million visitors to the FIFA World Cup starting next month, Qatar’s economy is likely to see significant growth for the current year. The infrastructure Qatar has developed for the World Cup will continue benefitting the economy beyond 2022.
