The RAF’s Red Arrows over Doha in 2013. They return this weekend as part of the UK’s campaign to maintain its trade relationship with both sides of the GCC split The Royal Air Force (RAF) Red Arrows will fly over…
Tag: Qatar
Is GCC split behind the spate of Arabian initiatives?
Women will be in the driving seat in Saudi Arabia from next June We’ll believe it when we see it, but King Salman’s order today that women will be able to get driving licences from next June means it won’t…
IMF says Qatar growth slowing
Measures imposed by some GCC and other states on 5 June following the diplomatic rift with some trading-partner countries led to a sharp contraction in imports into Qatar in June with a slight recovery in July but its non-oil growth…
S&P cautiously affirms AA- rating
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has affirmed Qatar’s rating at AA-/A-1+ but has cautioned that this might change if the boycott of Qatar by other GCC and Arabs states starts having a measurable effect on the economy. “We expect the ongoing…
Sheikh Abdullah Bin Ali al-Thani becomes Qatar’s man to watch
Directly descended from the founder of modern Qatar, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Ali al-Thani is the grandson, son and brother of previous Qatari rulers. An obscure Qatari sheikh has become in less than a week one of Arabia’s best-known figures. Sheikh Abdullah…
Qatar must meet 13 conditions for embargo to end
On the spot. Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim will find it hard to satisfy Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies Kuwait has presented Qatar a list of demands from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt, the four Arab nations that…
The GCC split was inevitable, it won’t last and Saudi Arabia will come out on top
Three things can be said about the extraordinary action taken this week against Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain. The confrontation — which has been brewing for more than two decades and involves dozens of points of friction…
Qatar government needs $44bn to finance deficits to 2021
Qatar’s government will need a total of QR 159bn ($43.7bn) in 2017-21 to deal with budget deficits forecast for the period, the IMF’s 2017 Article IV report on the country says. The fund forecasts total Qatar government debt will rise…
S&P downgrades Qatar outlook
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has affirmed Qatar’s long-term rating at AA and short-term rating at A-1+ but revised its outlook to negative because of evidence of growing external indebtedness in a report issued on 3 March. “The negative outlook reflects…
Higher oil to lift Qatar economy in 2017
Higher oil prices will boost Qatar’s economy by more than 10 per cent in 2017 though non-oil growth will continue to be sluggish, a report published by the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) shows. This will lift government income and…