Economy

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.

Despite instability in the Middle East and the sharp drop in oil and gas prices, Qatar’s economy has maintained a solid growth rate through 2014, as the growth rate of GDP at constant prices reached about 6.1%. This is a favourable rate. Its importance is noticeable when compared with the growth rates in oil-exporting countries in the MENA...

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...