All panellists, including the Qatari and Saudi finance ministers, highlighted the key role their governments’ national visions have played in roadmapping economic diversification and fostering fruitful inter-GCC relations.

At the Qatar Economic Forum’s panel session titled ‘Reshaping Middle East Economies,’ Qatari Finance Minister Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari discussed the government’s Qatar National Vision 2030 manifesto and how it was shaping the nation’s economic trajectory.

Al Kuwari began by outlining the evolution of the manifesto and its initial focus on developing “national champions” to bolster Qatar’s footing.

“When we [first] made the vision, there were three phases,” he said. “The first phase was focused on creating national champions.”This involved establishing entities such as the Qatar Investment Authority and Ooredoo.

Al Kuwari highlighted Qatar’s substantial investment in the next phase of the manifesto, which exceeded 300 billion Riyal in infrastructure development. He attributed the acceleration of these efforts to securing the bid for hosting the FIFA 2022 World Cup.

“Everybody talks about ‘World Cup, World Cup – what are you going to do next’?… Beyond 2022, we continue our journey and focus more on economic diversification, enabling the private sector, changing the policies [for the] ease of doing business,” the Qatari Finance Minister said.

Looking beyond 2022, Al Kuwari emphasised a continued commitment to economic diversification, with a particular emphasis on private sector growth and streamlining business policies. He identified logistics, ICT, manufacturing, and tourism as four key sectors for national investment.

Al Kuwari also celebrated the success of his country’s energy sector.

Recent milestones include QatarEnergy’s agreement with ExxonMobil to acquire a 40% participating interest in two exploration blocks offshore Egypt, as well as the North Field West expansion project announced by the Minister for Energy Affairs Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi in February.

“We believe LNG will be a transit energy for a long time. And this is going to help us to bring in the funds to invest in our Vision 2030 and future generations,” Al Kuwari said.

Echoing Al Kuwari’s sentiments, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Aljadaan discussed Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and emphasised its role in steering the nation towards a diversified and sustainable economy.

“Vision 2030 came as a response – actually, transforming the whole nation to make sure that we are a diversified, sustainable economy. And that is a mission that the rest of the GCC is going through,” he said.

Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, chairman of the Islamic Development Bank Group, highlighted the Gulf region’s cohesive image on the global stage and its role as a beacon of economic growth and development.

He stressed the importance of GCC collaborations across various sectors, noting their collective resilience and consistent policy frameworks as key strengths.

“We are seen from the outside as one block that has cohesive [and] complementary policies to move forward and really be a beacon of economic growth and development. Not only for the region but beyond,” he said.

Al Jasser also discussed the significance of “signalling” stability and confidence to both domestic and international investors, asserting that the Gulf region’s alignment on crucial issues bodes well for its economic future.