Qatar is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and its resilience is evident as it has overcome the adverse effects of COVID-19. The country’s budget for 2022 supports its plans for pursuing sustainable development, said Qatar Chamber (QC) Chairman, Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani.
Qatar’s budget for the year 2022 reflected the strength and durability of the national economy, said Sheikh Khalifa in the January 2022 issue of Al Moltaqa magazine.
Despite the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy over the past two years in conjunction with the precautionary measures imposed by the world countries to curb the pandemic, the state’s budget witnessed a significant increase compared to last year, through an increase in revenues by 22.4 percent to QR196bn, and an increase in expenditures by 4.9 percent from last year to QR204.3bn, the official noted.
“Although the new budget recorded an expected deficit of QR8.3bn, which is the difference between the estimated expenditures and the expected revenues, we expect that this deficit will be balanced, especially with expectations that oil prices will continue to rise at their current levels above $70 a barrel in 2022. This happened in the 2021 budget, whose estimates indicated a deficit when it was issued, but according to the official figures of the Ministry of Finance, the budget recorded a surplus of QR4.9bn during the first nine months of the year 2021,” QC Chairman said.
Sheikh Khalifa said further, “The allocation of QR74bn for major projects, a 36 percent share of the total expenditures, asserts the state’s interest in accomplishing the major development projects on schedule, especially those that are related to hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.”
Without a doubt, these projects will contribute to promoting economic growth and increasing the private sector’s participation in the implementation of these projects through the partnership between public and private sectors. He emphasised the budget also places adequate focus on two key sectors – education and health sector, which will see the development and expansion of schools and educational institutions and healthcare projects and programmes. Nearly QR17.8bn has been earmarked for education, while about QR20bn has been allocated for health sector.
“We think that the huge spending on infrastructure projects, the development of citizens’ lands and the development of educational and healthcare projects will positively reflect on private sector companies which will participate in the implementation of these projects,” QC official said.
Sheikh Khalifa added: “Overall, I see that the state’s budget for 2022 supports its plans in pursuing the sustainable development and it also asserts the sound financial plans adopted by the government in dealing with the fluctuations of oil prices. This certainly will further boost the Qatari economy, which is considered one of the world’s fastest growing economies, thanks to the wise leadership’s vision which enabled the national economy to achieve considerable growth rates, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative impacts on economies worldwide.
