The Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has said that COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the extent of the gap between the rich and poor nations and contributed to its expansion, especially during the faltering efforts to achieve development and reduce poverty.
He was addressing the opening ceremony of Qatar Economic Forum 2022, on June 21 in Doha. The forum aimed at enriching dialogue on the strategic issues that are at the forefront of priorities for the global economy.
“International community must translate words and goodwill into practical steps that could achieve equality in economic recovery among countries and salvage the sustainable development goals in a way that could support the poor peoples and those suffering from turmoil and wars”, he said.
According to details provided by the Embassy of Qatar in Canberra, Qatar Amir touched on various topics, from COVID-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine to Qatar’s economic growth and its preparations for the FIFA World Cup.
Pointing the impacts of the Ukrainian crisis which resulted in the rise in energy and grain prices, Sheikh Tamim said that the immediate humanitarian repercussions emanating from the interaction of the effects of war in Ukraine and local crises, such as in Ethiopia, Yemen and Syria may immediately result in exposing hundreds of thousands of people to the risk of starvation.
He emphasized that there are issues that have no economic solution, these include the wars and their devastating consequences on Ukraine and many other countries and peoples, stressing that the solution, in this case, can only be politically oriented.
He urged that the food crisis should neither be left to the law of supply and demand nor should the issue of extreme poverty be left to the poor countries to face alone.
Sheikh Tamim affirmed that economic forecasts regarding Qatar’s gross domestic product (GDP) indicate about a 4.9 percent growth in 2022 due to the rise in energy prices and the positive impact of the policies and measures adopted by the state.
Calling the climate change as one of the most serious challenges of the time, he stressed that supporting the economy, investment and innovation in parallel with consolidating shared human values and peacekeeping is the way to build the necessary capacities in order to transcend crises and overcome challenges facing humanity as a whole.
“Qatar assumes its responsibility as an active partner in the international community to confront climate change in its various economic, environmental and social dimensions”, he added.
Qatar has been one of the pioneering and leading countries at the global level to establish the “Net-Zero Producers Forum,” which is an international initiative aimed at cementing the principles upon which the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was concluded, especially in the field of developing practical strategies to reduce carbon emissions to net zero emissions, promoting a circular economy approach, and developing energy technologies.
He expressed confidence that the wide participation of the countries of the world in the FIFA World Cup 2022 will not only open the prospects for strengthening international economic partnerships, but will also constitute a springboard for strengthening the bridges of communication and dialogue between different peoples.
