The Middle East

In September 2015 preparatory work commenced on the planned site of the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Qatar. The 80,000-seat football facility, which was designed by the UK-based architecture firm Foster + Partners, is expected to serve as the flagship stadium during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, hosting both the opening and final matches of the...

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 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 revenues generated from having the third-largest proven natural gas reserves globally, Qatar has the...

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...