The Middle East

In a week of pregnant pauses, while the nation awaited the outcome of Sunday's local elections and a new round of negotiations on Cyprus, the government's privatisation strategy also looked to be imminent, if not yet actual. Delays in formulating strategies were compounded too by news that the body set up to sell off Turkey's state industries - thereby helping save the country from penury - was itself substantially in debt.

Turkey's troubled telecoms privatisation took what appeared to be one step forwards and one step back this week, as a delay in the tendering process was balanced by some more positive news on the size of the stake on offer.

With the spotlight often firmly on Qatar's vast oil and gas resources, the country's current - and potential - industrial output can be easily overlooked. Nevertheless, industrial development remains an integral part of the little Gulf state's ongoing ambition to build a viable private sector, albeit from the top down.

With most analysts predicting that the IMF delegation currently in Ankara going through Turkey's books will likely leave this week pretty satisfied, these are good times for the country's government. News that wholesale inflation had finally dipped below two digits, while exports have continued to rise, has also put market watchers and movers in a strongly positive mood.

In recent years, Qatar's oil exports have closely followed the rise and fall of world oil prices. This has created a budgetary risk for the state, which still relies on oil for more than 40% of its income, despite the fast-rising importance of gas. Not surprisingly, the economic managers of the tiny Gulf state have therefore learned to like predictability, even in boom times. In a recent exclusive interview, Minister of Energy and Industry, Abdullah Bin Hamad al-Attiyah told the OBG he would prefer to strive for price stability in the oil market, for the good of both consumers and producers, rather than ruthlessly attempting to maximize short-term gains.

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.