Qatar’s investments for the World Cup have been done for the country’s future and economic diversification as part of QNV 2030, said HE the Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari.
In an interview with CNN’s Richard Quest at the World Economic Forum at Davos, al-Kuwari discussed what was next for the country after the success of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Al-Kuwari said, “World Cup is only one month...and nobody would do a huge investment or prepare only for one month. So what we have been doing with the investments...infrastructure ... it's for Qatar. It's for the future of Qatar. This is part of our principles. And it is part of our diversification journey.”
On Qatar budget surplus (of $8bn in the third quarter of 2022), al-Kuwari said, “We have a very clear and disciplined fiscal policy framework. This is already approved by the government. And this decides how we do and how we deal with surpluses. Our surplus goes to Qatar Investment Authority for investments as part of our diversification.”
Al-Kuwari said, “Our economy today is 57% non-hydro-carbon. Only 43% is hydrocarbon. Most of the growth we see in our economy today comes from the non-hydrocarbon sector. But in reality, we are dependent on the hydrocarbon sector...and on the prices of oil. That’s why we have achieved an excellent surplus in the nine months of last year...9% GDP growth. This year also we are projecting a 3.5% growth in our GDP.”
The minister also listed out global recession, inflation, ongoing war in Ukraine and energy crisis as major concerns for the global economy.