Qatar records 4 percent growth rate, says Minister of Commerce and Industry as 9th Doha Islamic Finance Conference opens 

HE Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Abdullah Al-Thani said Tuesday that the Qatari economy achieved a four-percent growth rate in 2022.
This came in His Excellency's inaugural speech at the 9th Doha Islamic Finance Conference, held this year under the theme 'Islamic Finance and Challenges of the Web 3.0'. His Excellency said that the State of Qatar achieved an actual budget surplus of 89 billion riyals in 2022, and became the world's fifth-largest market for Islamic finance.
HE Minister of Commerce and Industry considered the financial sector as one of the main pillars of the Qatari economy, given its quality and the size of its local assets, highlighting its success to overcome many regional and global crises.
His Excellency highlighted the successive developments in digital transformation with major global economies tending to accelerate the adoption of advanced technological solutions. The Islamic financial technology sector is one of the most important sectors that has achieved significant expansion in the State of Qatar over the years, His Excellency said, adding that Doha is ranked among the top 10 capitals for this sector in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries.
His Excellency added that the major global economies' investments directed to the financial technology sector exceeded about USD164 billion in 2022, amid the competition of companies specialised in this field to adopt the best and most advanced digital programs like Metaverse technology, which is expected to make tremendous revolution regarding its solutions, which include applications of the third generation of the web or what is known as the decentralised Internet and blockchain technologies, which are one of the most important tools used in financial portfolio technology.
His Excellency considered that the 9th Doha Islamic Finance Conference is an important opportunity to highlight the approach that has been taken at the local and global levels, in order to adopt the best technical standards and regulatory controls to benefit from artificial intelligence solutions and advanced technologies in the field of financial technology and Islamic finance.
For his part, HE Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dukhan Bank Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani confirmed that the conference that brought together leaders and thinkers of Islamic finance discusses the future and challenges of Islamic finance and banking.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank noted that financial technology today constitutes the most prominent direction for the transformation of the financial landscape in the world, due to the huge and rapidly developing capabilities that this technology contains that enable it to bring about a transformation in the financial markets and the financing environment.
Banks have positive results that have enhanced their presence, expansion and improved the quality of their services. However, there are challenges that may arise when the cooperation relationship turns into competition led by giant technology companies to enter financing operations, provide financial services and compete with the banking sector, which may lead to confusion in the work of banks and the financial and banking environment.
Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Conference Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti confirmed that the timing of the conference coincides with an overlapping scene suffering from economic imbalances and geopolitical turmoil, with the central authorities and organisations trying to control the repercussions according to traditional economic perceptions and ideas that require more innovation and modernisation.
On the other hand, the financial technology revolution and its developments come to compete with these economic systems from time to time, to draw their attention towards a new environmental system for the economy that is being marketed as an alternative to solving the dilemmas of the traditional economy, he said.
Al Sulaiti added that the 9th Doha Islamic Finance Conference seeks to highlight the role of Islamic finance and the visions it can provide to overcome problems and build structures under an Islamic economic system, through discussion sessions that bring together specialists in Islamic Sharia, law, economics, technology, and industry practitioners, voicing hopes the conference will come out with recommendations that contribute to strengthening the role of the Islamic financial industry.
He indicated that the governing framework of Islamic law is not seen as a limitation of creativity and innovation, but is rather a safety valve to achieve justice and balance between the interests of human beings and the worlds and environments that surround them.
Participants in the conference discussed four main axes - Islamic finance in the world of the metaverse, regulatory and supervisory technology in Islamic finance, cross-border finance and its impact on Islamic finance and sustainability in digital finance.