The economic, political, social and educational accomplishments of our leadership over the past 12 years has hit a raw nerve in some places in the world. Some countries are working hard to hide the achievements of Qatari policies by using the media to spread fabricated news.
Distortion of the national image is the price every honest country has to pay. This should not surprise us, especially when we keep in mind the successes our country manages to achieve every day. It should not catch us off-balance, especially when we take into consideration the renaissance we have achieved, thanks to the wise policies and clear vision of our leadership and the hard work put in to improve the life of the citizens of this country.
In economic terms, Qatar’s presence is strongly felt everywhere. Qatar has made many investments outside its borders in its bid to diversify its resources. This means that our country does not rely on one economic activity for its income; it does not rely only on oil and natural gas for money. Qatar is one of few countries that have managed to exploit their potentialities in all sectors to the full in order to bring about an all-out renaissance over a short period of time.
The way Qatar seizes investment opportunities outside its borders amazes international economic observers. And this is why our oil-rich nation occupies a prominent position at the international level.
Qatar has invested $215bn outside its borders, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). These investments were not haphazardly distributed. On the contrary, they were made to cover a wide range of economic sectors in countries across the world.
Qatari investments abroad are expected to reach $485bn in five years, the IMF says. It adds that Qatar’s economic growth will continue to spiral in the years to come. This year, our economy is expected to grow by 5.2 percent.
Qatar has managed to achieve record economic growth rates in the past few years. This made the Qatari economy one of the world’s fastest growing even as a downturn bogged down many other economies.
Qatari investments are in important sectors, such as real estate, banking, agriculture, food, car manufacturing, sports, mining, energy, space, telecommunications, petrochemicals, electricity, technology, luxury, the hospitality industry and the retail sector. Qatar has intelligently managed to buy several international companies operating in these different sectors. This has stimulated the economy back home to grow.
The Emir, H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and Heir Apparent H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, have managed to adopt a coherent economic strategy that has turned into a main pillar for economic development in this country. Qatar has vigorously started putting the vision of the leader of the country and the Heir Apparent for the future into effect.
Qatar has earmarked a huge budget for scientific research. It has become the only country in the Gulf region to allocate 2.8 percent of its gross domestic product to scientific research. This amounts to $3.5bn every year.
Qatar spent $8bn to establish one of the largest research centres in the world. The Sidra Medical and Research Center works under the umbrella of Qatar Foundation. Qatar also created a special fund at the Qatar Foundation to foster scientific research. The fund had allocated $500m to support various research projects in the past five years. Qatar University spent $63m in the fiscal year 2011/2012 to support scientific research. The university also established the Qatar Science and Technology Park, a beacon of knowledge-based economy in the Middle East.
These tremendous efforts, which bring us regional and international success, must be the reason why so many people grit their teeth in envy seeing us gallop on the way to development. They do this instead of taking Qatar as a role model for themselves.
It is important to note here that these successes have been achieved not because we have money, but because we have a wise political leadership. This is a leadership that has the patriotism, vision, and the experience it takes to make a real success of this country.
Money alone cannot achieve all these successes. Some countries have abundant wealth, but they are still mired in poverty and corruption. The sorry thing is that as these countries get richer, the lines of jobless people in them get longer.
Qatar invests the bulk of its money on the brains of its citizens, and this is what makes it different and unique. In doing this, it exploits the blessings God has bestowed on it to make its people lead a prosperous life.
Qatar, however, is not a self-centred country. True, it focuses on its internal development. But as it does this, it never forgets its Arab brethren. Qatar has borne the major burden of backing needy Arabs and advocating their causes, although it has faced many obstacles on the way.
There is always a price for success, and this price can be the smear campaigns successful countries are subjected to every now and then by their foes, whether individuals or institutions. The sorry thing is that most of this is done by countries Qatar has never balked at supporting in the past.
What makes Qatar a special country is that it does not care a whit about the negative media campaigns launched against it by its enemies. It moves ahead fully believing that the reality will be clear to everybody one day. It works in silence and does not care about either the rumours spread against it or gossiping. It continues to succeed and rise above everybody else, leaving talk and envy to its foes.
