DOHA: Minister of Economy and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani said yesterday that the Qatari economy has proved its strength and robustness in facing the challenges of the unjust siege imposed on Qatar.
“The economy also proved its capability to handle and overcome all the effects of the siege with the support of the systematic economical and commercial policies planned by the wise leadership,” he added. The Minister reminded the attendees of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s affirmations that the State of Qatar will not be the same after June 5, adding that Qatar’s achievements during the period following the siege proved unequivocal evidence of the failure of the arbitrary measures of the siege countries, which only succeeded at strengthening Qatar’s faith in its citizens’ capabilities.
The Minister of Economy and Commerce, H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al Thani revealed a few statistics that proves the status and robustness of the Qatari economy on a world trade level including, the oil exports which rose by 25.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016, whereas the contribution of the oil and gas sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) during the year 2017 was 48 percent, at constant prices.
“The Ministry of Economy and Commerce is working on a number of legislative amendments, around 18 different legislative instruments, including new and specialized legislations such as the public-private partnership law, the state strategic stock law, the national product protection law, and the unified economic registry law and brokerage law, in addition to key amendments to the law on non-Qatari capital investment in economic activity and the laws on business environment business enterprises,” he said.
He said that to further complement those measures, the State is working to enhance the contribution of non-oil sectors to GDP, which reached about 52 percent last year. With regard to foreign trade, he said the indicators showed that the country’s foreign trade increased by 16 percent last year to reach $103bn compared with $89bn in 2016. Country’s exports saw a remarkable rise of 19 percent, registering $68bn last year compared with $57bn in 2016.
