21-06-2022
His Highness, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, patronized the opening of the Qatar Economic Forum 2022 in cooperation with Bloomberg, which is being held under the slogan: "Achieving Equality in Global Economic Recovery", at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Doha this morning.
The inauguration was attended by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of the Republic of Namibia Haji Geingob, the President of the Republic of Togo, HE Faure Sozimna Gnassingbe, the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Dr. Julius Maada Bio, the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili, and their excellencies heads of delegations Sister and friendly countries.
The opening was also attended by H.E the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, a number of Their Excellencies Sheikhs, ministers, heads of diplomatic missions accredited to the state, senior officials from policy makers, parliamentarians, thinkers, economists, businessmen, media and representatives of regional and international organizations.
His Highness the Emir delivered a speech as follows: In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased at the outset to welcome you all to the second edition of the Qatar Economic Forum, which aims to enrich dialogue on strategic issues that top the priorities of the global economy, appreciating in this context the wide attendance participation which we hope actually embodies the turning of the page for Covid 19.
The positive health indicators have risen due to the lifting of restrictions, the recovery of trade movement, the increase in public spending and the increase in global demand at all levels. However, the disruption that occurred in the supply chains is still one of the most important factors for the price hike, to which have been added the devastating effects of the current war on the European continent on the territory of Ukraine.
The pandemic revealed the size of the gap between rich and poor countries and contributed to its expansion, especially through the faltering efforts aimed at achieving development and reducing poverty. The international community must adopt an approach that translates good words and intentions into practical steps that achieve equality in economic recovery between countries and save the sustainable development goals in a way that supports poor peoples and those suffering from turmoil and war.
Expectations indicate a decline in global economic growth by about a third this year compared to last year, due to the high inflation rates in the long term. This may be a prelude to an inflationary recession that the world has not witnessed since the period between 1976 and 1979, according to World Bank reports, when sharp increases in interest rates for the purpose of combating inflation led to an economic recession in the early eighties.
One of the effects of the Ukrainian crisis is the rise in energy and grain prices and its impact on the global economy. There are immediate humanitarian effects of the interaction of the effects of the war in Ukraine with local crises, for example in Ethiopia, Yemen and Syria, which leads to an immediate exposure of hundreds of thousands to the risk of starvation.
There are issues that have no economic solution, including the war and its devastating effects on Ukraine and on many other countries and peoples. The solution in this case can only be political. It is also not permissible to leave the food crisis in conditions of war to the law of supply and demand, just as it is not permissible to leave the issue of extreme poverty for poor countries to face it alone.
Our success in overcoming these challenges depends on the ability of all our countries to abide by a set of principles, the first of which is the consolidation of justice, equality and solidarity, and the rejection of double standards.
Ladies and Gentlemen, The GDP growth forecast for the State of Qatar is about 4.9% in 2022. This is due to the rise in energy prices and the positive impact of the policies and procedures adopted by the state with the aim of supporting the economic sectors and enhancing the private sector's ability to produce and adapt to regional and global changes.
We are aware that high energy prices do not last forever. We have lived through long periods in which energy prices were low, and only rational policies and savings in the stages of price increases for the purpose of investment and diversification of income sources have compensated us for this decrease.
In the field of economic diversification, some legislative amendments were made to facilitate commercial transactions, enhance competition, protect consumers, encourage the industrial and technological sector, support the competitiveness of national products and increase foreign direct investment by allowing foreign investors to own 100% of the companies' capital.
These efforts have led to a significant increase in the volume of domestic and foreign investment over the past years, especially with regard to foreign direct investment, which rose during 2021 by 27% compared to 2020. We hope that this growth will continue to rise in the coming years in accordance with the plans.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Supporting the economy, investment and innovation in parallel with the promotion of common human values and peacekeeping, is the way to build the necessary capacities to overcome crises and overcome challenges facing humanity as a whole, such as the threat of epidemics and climate change, which is one of the most serious challenges we are witnessing in our time.
Qatar assumes its responsibility as an active partner in the international community to confront climate change in its various economic, environmental and social dimensions. Qatar was one of the first and leading countries at the global level to establish the "Zero Neutrality Forum for Producers", which is an international initiative aimed at consolidating the principles on which the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was built, especially in the field of developing practical strategies to bring carbon emissions to zero neutrality, and promoting the circular economy approach. and development of energy technologies.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Qatar and the entire region are on the cusp of an important historical event, which is hosting the 2022 World Cup for the first time in our region. We are confident that the wide participation of the countries of the world in this event will pave the way not only to strengthen international economic partnerships, but will also form a platform for strengthening bridges of communication and dialogue between different peoples.
So, everyone, welcome to Doha.