Qatar

Qatar and its northern island neighbour Bahrain have agreed to enhance regional co-operation by building closer links across the 45 km of seawater that separates them. The latest statements from the two countries' governments indicate that the proposed Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Bridge, discussed on and off for the past three years, is currently on again.

Recently, the OBG conducted an exclusive interview with Abdulla bin Khalid al-Attiya, the governor of the Qatari central bank. With the resultant discussion covering many aspects of finance and banking within the country, the OBG is proud to present extracts from this interview in the following briefing.

While most Qataris would probably say that last year's US-led invasion of Iraq had little impact on their country's booming, gas-fuelled economy, it has made for major changes in at least one area - the labour market.

Last week, Doha became the first Arab capital to formally announce its intention to write off some of the massive debt burden incurred by Iraq during the past 25 years. While most analysts see the move as having little effect on either the Qatari or Iraqi economy, it is nonetheless being seen as an important first step in encouraging other Arab nations to follow suit.

Despite the recent focus on major gas deals, Qatar is also still trying to put itself on the map in sectors that require a more human kind of energy with the Doha Asian Games. Scheduled for 2006, preparations for this athletics tournament have placed a series of construction projects centre stage, all of which aim to make the small Gulf emirate a regional business and tourism hub.

Qatari officials made use of the second US-Islamic World Forum, held in Doha January 13-15, as a stage to express moderate Arab concerns about US foreign policy, particularly with regards to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the ongoing conflict in Iraq.