The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Business and Investment in Qatar Forum in Berlin, Germany, yesterday. The Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, the Minister of Finance and Economy H E Yousuf Hussein Kamal and other officials are also present.
Berlin: The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani yesterday said Qatar was moving steadily towards achieving sustainable development of a knowledge-based economy.
He said Qatar will achieve the goal based on the four pillars — economic, social, human and environmental development — of Qatar National Vision 2030, initiated by the Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
The Premier was addressing the opening ceremony of the Business and Investment in Qatar Forum, in Berlin, Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel and Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit were present.
The Premier said the Qatari economy grew by an average of 13 percent from 2008 to 2012 due to an increase in hydrocarbon exports. This in turn, he said, spurred the leadership to lay down the Qatar National Development Strategy 2011-2016 to achieve sustainable growth.
As part of it, investment in infrastructure should reach
$160bn by 2019, while growth in the construction and transport sectors is expected to reach 10 percent and 15 percent, respectively in 2013, the Premier said.
He said the growth pattern was reflected in the state budget for 2013-2014 fiscal which focuses on economic diversity and highlights growing investment opportunities in Qatar. In addition, he said, Qatar was able to maintain high growth rates during and after the global economic crisis, and along with other Gulf states, played a leading role, with high growth rates and spending policies, in stabilising global demand and spending in many countries affected by the crisis. He said foreign investment is a cornerstone of Qatar’s strategy to diversify its sources of income. On economic relations with Germany, the Premier cited Qatar stakes in Volkswagen, Porsche, Hochtief, Siemens, PSF and other German firms, and stressed that several German firms were implementing infrastructure projects in Qatar.
The Peninsula
