Qatar

Despite an increase in crop production and international trade following a pandemic-disrupted 2020, global food prices have risen to 10-year highs, increasing pressure on many emerging markets.

Amid the global economic downturn linked to the pandemic, Qatar was able to draw on its strong track record of fiscal surpluses and its robust sovereign credit rating to fund an integrated and effective policy response that alleviated the most severe pressures on vulnerable businesses and households, and maintained economic stability.

Backed by a high credit rating, advanced oil and gas production and storage capacity, and a deep sovereign wealth fund, Qatar was able to tap international debt markets to fund an effective economic response to the pandemic, while its relatively small population was well served by a modern health care system guided by clear government policy geared towards prevention as well as treatment. 

With hydrocarbons-rich countries in the Gulf increasingly looking to reduce their carbon emissions, some in the region are turning towards multi-coloured hydrogen as a more environmentally sustainable solution.

The trade dispute between Qatar and some of its neighbours in 2017-20 served to strengthen the country's food security, spurring it to ramp up domestic production capacity and diversify global trade partners.

More than a year after the initial onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Gulf banking sector is seeing an increase in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), as lenders continue to deal with the economic fallout.