In mid-March 2016 Mohamed bin Saleh Al Sada, Qatar’s minister of energy and industry and also president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), announced that representatives of the world’s leading oil-exporting nations were planning a meeting in Doha. The summit included 15 countries, which together accounted for...
Much has changed in Qatar since the government launched the current National Development Strategy (NDS) in 2011. The document, which covers 2011-16, was drawn up before the nation was awarded hosting rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, for instance – before the push began to build stadia and other large-scale infrastructure projects.
With years of significant budget surpluses, a stable macroeconomic environment, low government debt, political stability and a sizeable sovereign wealth fund, Qatar has continued to rank highly in the leading global indices.
Since Saudi Arabia began reducing its domestic wheat production in 2008, the issue of food security has been high on the agenda for GCC governments. The kingdom, which was once self-sufficient in grain and even exported to the wider region, recognised a fact that is true across the whole of the Arabian Peninsula: it is running out of water and...
One of the most important issues currently facing the Middle East is the changing composition of its demographic structure. A massive cohort of young people – known as a youth bulge – is challenging policy makers, with youth policy affecting security, education, the labour market and welfare programmes, among other areas. Given the relative...
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