The Middle East

Qatar National Vision 2030 recognises the need to diversify the economy by enabling a flourishing private sector and supporting entrepreneurs, who need seed capital and land for factories, offices and warehouses in order to grow. In 2ence011 the state created Manateq, tasking the agency with managing special economic zones (SEZs) and...

In recent years Qatar’s leaders have faced some difficult choices in terms of public spending as a result of the continued downturn in oil and gas prices since 2014, followed by the economic blockade by neighbouring countries. Despite facing declining revenue, public spending continued on infrastructure mega-projects initiated for the 2022...

Since gaining independence in 1971 Qatar has quickly risen to prominence both regionally and internationally to become an economic, political and cultural powerhouse in the Middle East. With a relatively small local population and substantial revenue generated from having the third-largest proven natural gas reserves globally, Qatar has one of...

Qatar has moved forward with confident strides, implementing national development programmes as planned. In 2018 the country’s GDP grew by about 15%, while non-hydrocarbon GDP increased by around 9%. The government has sought to restore balance to the state budget, cutting public expenditure without affecting priority projects.